Quarantined In Manila

[brightfuture78 118]

Almost didn't post this as I'm tired of telling stories about our bad luck, but figured it could be valuable info for anyone finding themselves in similar circumstances.

 

Anyway, my fiancé & her 7-year-old daughter have their visas, CFO certificates, and they had their flights booked to US and were supposed to be on a plane right now. The plan was to fly out from the province into Manila on Thursday - get their Rapid Antigen tests, stay at a hotel for the night, then take a flight from Manila to the US on Friday.

 

They arrived in Manila, went to the testing lab, got swabbed, stopped for something to eat, then headed to their hotel.  As they were walking into the hotel lobby, the email came in from the testing lab with their results - daughter negative, fiancé... positive. I wasn't sure how to proceed. Do I book a quarantine hotel for them? For how long? What happens after that? Do they need to re-test until they get a negative result? How long could this delay their trip? Weeks? Months???

 

We decided she should inform the the front desk staff at the hotel that she'd just been tested, it came back positive, and so she'd have to cancel her reservation. They requested her to wait outside the hotel and they would have someone come to advise her about her situation. About an hour passed and my fiancé wasn't responding to my messages, so I started to get worried. Finally, she contacts me and tells me she's in a Quarantine Facility, and would need to stay there for 7 days. 

 

She and her daughter have their own little room - has A/C, a bathroom area, and a bed (without blankets or pillows). I'm not entirely sure who arranged this - I assume someone from the local government did. Since I wasn't involved in the discussion, I don't know if there was an option to find and pay for their own quarantine arrangements at a designated hotel. I suppose the facility they were placed in is not the worst setup and it's free, so can't complain too much. They provide meals, but you can also order food and items to be delivered there. They told her that after the seven days are complete, she will receive a physician-signed medical certificate that indicates she was quarantined/treated, which she can use to travel in lieu of a negative test result.

 

She is now at the end of day 2 of quarantine, so 5 days to go before she can finally leave the country. She's hanging in there. She's not feeling ill, just bored. I chat with her as much as possible. Ordered blankets and pillows to be delivered. Hope they arrive tomorrow. 

[PWB 213]

This process is surely a play on your emotions and wallet.  God willing she will be here soon.  That's the plus side of this.  The down side is you will start the AOS process and get in line again for more disfunction and stress.   Best of luck to you and your family.

[hunny&me 274]

I pray for their safety.  Have faith... one week is just short.  I heard they have good internet in Qfacilities.. Tell her to take time to web-browsing... maybe wedding preparation or familiarizing with your place.  Keep her daughter busy so that she is not constantly near her..  Take Vitamin C (double dose).  God bless you and your future family!

Edited February 18, 2022 by hunny&me

[Mike E 11,741]

If possible, route travel through Mexico.  Mexico doesn’t require a negative Covid test, and then you can just walk into the USA.  

[Commish10 427]

33 minutes ago, brightfuture78 said:

Almost didn't post this as I'm tired of telling stories about our bad luck, but figured it could be valuable info for anyone finding themselves in similar circumstances.

 

Anyway, my fiancé & her 7-year-old daughter have their visas, CFO certificates, and they had their flights booked to US and were supposed to be on a plane right now. The plan was to fly out from the province into Manila on Thursday - get their Rapid Antigen tests, stay at a hotel for the night, then take a flight from Manila to the US on Friday.

 

They arrived in Manila, went to the testing lab, got swabbed, stopped for something to eat, then headed to their hotel.  As they were walking into the hotel lobby, the email came in from the testing lab with their results - daughter negative, fiancé... positive. I wasn't sure how to proceed. Do I book a quarantine hotel for them? For how long? What happens after that? Do they need to re-test until they get a negative result? How long could this delay their trip? Weeks? Months???

 

We decided she should inform the the front desk staff at the hotel that she'd just been tested, it came back positive, and so she'd have to cancel her reservation. They requested her to wait outside the hotel and they would have someone come to advise her about her situation. About an hour passed and my fiancé wasn't responding to my messages, so I started to get worried. Finally, she contacts me and tells me she's in a Quarantine Facility, and would need to stay there for 7 days. 

 

She and her daughter have their own little room - has A/C, a bathroom area, and a bed (without blankets or pillows). I'm not entirely sure who arranged this - I assume someone from the local government did. Since I wasn't involved in the discussion, I don't know if there was an option to find and pay for their own quarantine arrangements at a designated hotel. I suppose the facility they were placed in is not the worst setup and it's free, so can't complain too much. They provide meals, but you can also order food and items to be delivered there. They told her that after the seven days are complete, she will receive a physician-signed medical certificate that indicates she was quarantined/treated, which she can use to travel in lieu of a negative test result.

 

She is now at the end of day 2 of quarantine, so 5 days to go before she can finally leave the country. She's hanging in there. She's not feeling ill, just bored. I chat with her as much as possible. Ordered blankets and pillows to be delivered. Hope they arrive tomorrow. 

I feel your anquish with the whole situation. I would just make 1000% sure that the airline/US or whomever checks for negative Covid tests accepts the medical certificate. Everybody has their own set of rules there, whether offical or made up. The checkin people or  immigration officer at the airport may not thing the certificate is ok. Verify, Verify, Verify,

[doggieandsam 765]

sorry to hear this OP. the silver lining is your fiancee is asymptomatic and not suffering medically. hang in there and hope all goes as scheduled from here on out.

this is a good lesson for anyone who is about to fly out, have an appointment with the embassy / USCIS: self-quarantine from two weeks out and stay home! a small price to pay to ensure you don't catch covid before an important (often very hard to reschedule) flight or appearance!

 

[Girandola 52]

Sorry I saw this too late to help you. My fiancé tested positive right before her medical. Almost certain it was a false positive we had her tested again the next day and it was negative. We were lucky to get negative antigen test from the PAL facility at the airport and she is here now in the US. So for anyone else this might help, be quiet and quickly get another test. You might get lucky!

[RO_AH 1,659]

On 2/18/2022 at 4:11 AM, brightfuture78 said:

Almost didn't post this as I'm tired of telling stories about our bad luck, but figured it could be valuable info for anyone finding themselves in similar circumstances.

 

Anyway, my fiancé & her 7-year-old daughter have their visas, CFO certificates, and they had their flights booked to US and were supposed to be on a plane right now. The plan was to fly out from the province into Manila on Thursday - get their Rapid Antigen tests, stay at a hotel for the night, then take a flight from Manila to the US on Friday.

 

They arrived in Manila, went to the testing lab, got swabbed, stopped for something to eat, then headed to their hotel.  As they were walking into the hotel lobby, the email came in from the testing lab with their results - daughter negative, fiancé... positive. I wasn't sure how to proceed. Do I book a quarantine hotel for them? For how long? What happens after that? Do they need to re-test until they get a negative result? How long could this delay their trip? Weeks? Months???

 

We decided she should inform the the front desk staff at the hotel that she'd just been tested, it came back positive, and so she'd have to cancel her reservation. They requested her to wait outside the hotel and they would have someone come to advise her about her situation. About an hour passed and my fiancé wasn't responding to my messages, so I started to get worried. Finally, she contacts me and tells me she's in a Quarantine Facility, and would need to stay there for 7 days. 

 

She and her daughter have their own little room - has A/C, a bathroom area, and a bed (without blankets or pillows). I'm not entirely sure who arranged this - I assume someone from the local government did. Since I wasn't involved in the discussion, I don't know if there was an option to find and pay for their own quarantine arrangements at a designated hotel. I suppose the facility they were placed in is not the worst setup and it's free, so can't complain too much. They provide meals, but you can also order food and items to be delivered there. They told her that after the seven days are complete, she will receive a physician-signed medical certificate that indicates she was quarantined/treated, which she can use to travel in lieu of a negative test result.

 

She is now at the end of day 2 of quarantine, so 5 days to go before she can finally leave the country. She's hanging in there. She's not feeling ill, just bored. I chat with her as much as possible. Ordered blankets and pillows to be delivered. Hope they arrive tomorrow. 

Sad to hear, but hopefully soon it will all be worked out.