There’s a couple in Denver, Colorado that have postponed their honeymoon for well over a year. Just like many other young couples, they’ve been postponing their honeymoon due to the pandemic.
The wife’s name is Shivani Pathak. Shivani and her husband had hoped to have an amazing dream trip this upcoming spring. It was something that they apparently looking forward to.
After carefully analyzing and research their options for many months, the couple decided to visit Seychelles, an archipelagic island country that is northeast of Madagascar. Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean and is on the eastern edges of the Somali Sea.
Seychelles has a total of 115 islands.
According to the wife,
“Seychelles is the most vaccinated country in the world and so we figured traveling there would be pretty safe, especially since we’re both vaccinated.”
Seychelles is identified as the most vaccinated nation on Earth, despite surprise surges in the number of COVID-19 cases, which has caused a bit of alarm from the World Health Organization. It is unclear if the husband and wife knew about this.
We can take look at the graph below:
Before leaving Colorado, the husband and wife made sure to take their PCR and rapid COVID-19 test. According to the FDA, rapid testing has a high turnaround time that detects protein fragments specific to COVID-19.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, if you are worried that you have tested positive, there are more than 80 free community testing sites throughout the state and do not require a doctor’s note, insurance, or identification. You can see the map below:
A few days later, while in Seychelles, on the island of Praslin, the second-largest island of Inner Seychelles, the couple received some pretty shocking and grim news:
“We went to a second island called Praslin and on that island, we had about a day and a half to explore, which is really nice before the hotel staff came and knocked on our hotel door and told us although my husband had tested negative, I had tested positive.”
Since the wife reportedly tested positive, the couple would now have to spend time indoors instead of enjoying the sights and sounds of Seychelles. In addition, it is already established that both the husband and wife had their vaccines and tested negative back in Colorado.
The wife was clearly sad about this turn of events:
“To spend 10 days of the two weeks that we had off in isolation was a bummer.”
As a result of all these recurring positive cases found with vaccinated people, the World Health Organization has been analyzing and investigating the COVID-19 cases of Seychelles.
WHO’s Director of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, Dr. Kate O’Brien reported the following:
“As was noted, the vaccines are highly efficacious against severe cases and deaths. Most of the cases which have occurred are mild cases. However, what is also important is that a substantial fraction, over 80% of the population, has been vaccinated. But as we know ... some of the cases that are being reported are occurring either soon after a single dose, or soon after a second dose, or between the first and second doses.”
While there’s a lot to speculate about at this time, the couple is just likely sad that they cannot celebrate their long-awaited honeymoon (that they planned in advance for).
According to Shivani:
“We had talked to the ministry of health there and they basically said that a positive is a positive and we have to treat everyone who has a positive test as a positive.”
As for the couple, they’ve likely learned their lesson in this situation:
“Although that was our honeymoon, I think we will really have to have a honeymoon part two.”
When it comes to traveling, it’s best to always carry vaccination documentation, buy applicable travel insurance, and do homework ahead of time. In some cases, other countries may have rules that are different than the rules of America and/or Colorado state.
As for the people in Denver, Colorado, always keep vigilant when traveling— even if you’re just visiting the next town. You may have to do further paperwork, especially during momentous occasions like a honeymoon.
When in doubt, always research super carefully. The people of Denver, Colorado, deserve to be well-informed.