Brazil reopened to tourists

[Riobard]

I should add that even if I have no immunity at a point in the future when community herd immunity is achieved that changes everything if there is minimal exposure incidence. Such a scenario opens creaky things up. 

[Latbear4blk]

5 hours ago, Kevie770 said:

Yes, I will definitely keep up and make an informed decision. I would use the same safety measures I do here in Atlanta. Mask up, wash my hands and social distance when possible. Ga has more Covid cases than the state of Rio does and is reporting twice as many cases daily. So it’s not like I’m going from one safe space to a dangerous space. More like going from dangerous to slightly more dangerous lol. But I will definitely be contacting you about Salvador! I’ve been binge reading your blog the last few nights and I would def like to meet Marcelo!

Marcelo is adorable, you will need Portuguese or a translator to communicate with him. I have been thinking a lot of Salvador lately, as I am traveling only in my screens and imagination. PM or email me if you have any question.

[Latbear4blk]

My fantasies are back. I am thinking of spending Thanksgiving in Rio again.

[tassojunior]

On 8/1/2020 at 1:46 PM, Riobard said:

I should add that even if I have no immunity at a point in the future when community herd immunity is achieved that changes everything if there is minimal exposure incidence. Such a scenario opens creaky things up. 

Yea but "our guys" aren't in the herd. If anyone is going to catch it they are.They often are in the most, most, most susceptible crowd for contagion. ( excepting my absolutely perfect Bel Ami friends of course). 

[Riobard]

1 hour ago, tassojunior said:

...  "our guys" aren't in the herd. If anyone is going to catch it they are.They often are in the most, most, most susceptible crowd for contagion.

I’m not sure you grasp the concept. The guys by your own classification are more in the herd than anyone and spur the requirements for eventual herd immunity, which is a large enough population percentage of exposure to reduce transmission due to dwindling numbers of susceptible hosts. They are also more likely to get infection ‘done and dusted’ in the earlier stages of the pandemic and may even be safer candidates for play than the average joe long before herd immunity is achieved.

The playbook at this point, for those determined to chance a visit, is to interact with a minimal quantity of trade in 1:1 bubbles max 1 bubblebutt at a go. The odds of you intersecting with 1 guy’s contagion over the course of 8 months of pandemic is about 6%, assuming he acquires infection within that time frame. Personally I would avoid even that risk in a foreign country, erm, like the plague. But playing house with the same person with a relative degree of confinement and autonomous meal prep, etc, along with standard protection measures out and about will be a lot more secure

For each new guy in sequence add 6%. It is high volume slutting that may get you in hot water when you will be more in need of cold compresses, or worse. These calculations are also not using the same algorithm as for probability of 1 infection among a series of guys you interact with. That algorithm would need to be adjusted for CoV prevalence inflated among a higher risk subgroup such as trade , which brings us full circle back to one of the main points. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Riobard

[Riobard]

There is a new report of a health care worker in Brazil with presumed reinfection, similar to the  Boston case of an elderly male. However, the reinfection debate is not gaining much momentum favouring the bad news side. The reports are extremely rare among many millions of cases globally and, thus far, the virus samples cannot be grown in vitro. That refutes the idea of viable new infection but supports the notion of prolonged single infection, which of course presents a different but sobering spectre of disease possibility in cases where symptoms persist. 

This is all not to say that natural immunity following infection will not have an inevitable endpoint. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Riobard

[tassojunior]

36 minutes ago, Riobard said:

There is a new report of a health care worker in Brazil with presumed reinfection, similar to the  Boston case of an elderly male. However, the reinfection debate is not gaining much momentum favouring the bad news side. The reports are extremely rare among many millions of cases globally and, thus far, the virus samples cannot be grown in vitro. That refutes the idea of viable new infection but supports the notion of prolonged single infection, which of course presents a different but sobering spectre of disease possibility in cases where symptoms persist. 

This is all not to say that natural immunity following infection will not have an inevitable endpoint. 

There's also a possibility of viral load differences mattering both for illness and maybe even immunity. And tests are ultra unreliable still. 

[Riobard]

8 hours ago, tassojunior said:

There's also a possibility of viral load differences mattering ... for illness

It is difficult to evaluate whether VL predicts hospitalization, a good marker for illness severity, because it is not yet as a rule measured for treatment decision purposes and is virtually never measured for the non-hospitalized. It is quantified logarithmically like HIV. Symptoms dictate care plans at point of diagnosis. 

A study reported this week in The Lancet suggests that VL may to some degree be an independent predictor of mortality among hospitalized patients, about a 10-fold increase (1 base10 log) without holding other variables constant, and about a 7% increased probability per 1 log VL increase when controlling for age and comorbidity. What was striking was the range of quantified VL, in the hundreds (per ml) to in the billions (in absolute terms, not log-converted), and the enormous mortality rate overall that did not discriminate much in terms of viral burden. 

Overall, this suggests to me that among the most ill of those CoV-infected, viral load is of little consequence. Anybody less ill than reaching the threshold necessitating hospitalization is likely to recover irrespective of position on the lesser disease severity gradient that exists outside of being admitted. Logically, then, outside of knowledge concerning the viral load range for the non-hospitalized, I am not convinced of its relevance.

VL and contagion is another matter, a different slide.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Riobard

[Riobard]

If HIV testing were as notoriously inaccurate as SARS-CoV-2 testing and its indicator results influenced behaviour to the same questionable degree as testing does in the pandemic it would likely be completely abandoned for screening/prevention purposes and utilized exclusively for diagnosis and disease intervention. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Riobard

[Latbear4blk]

I have a credit for a flight in AA. I just rebooked it for the TG week in November. Let's see. I was planning a non promiscuous trip. No saunas, bringing Will Prado from Porto Alegre, and spending the week with him.

However, when I started planning, I found out that my favorite porn star will probably be there. We have developed something like a partnership through the blog, and I am thrilled at the possibility of coinciding in the same place for the first time and meeting face to face. It is a very strong extra motivation to face the risk of traveling, and if I parachute in the middle of his overpopulated orgies of course I will not be avoiding promiscuity.

Now, I can only sit and follow how the situation evolves. I will not buy covid insurance until November. 

[Riobard]

That’s a good boy, come on, fetch me a vaccine vial. Atta boy ... what a smart Siberian! Yes you are oh yes you are. 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Riobard

[Riobard]

The US embassy in Brasilia does not want Americans visiting Brazil at this time. 

Level 4 Travel Advisory (Do Not Travel)

Level 3 CDC Travel Health Advisory

Edited August 12, 2020 by Riobard

[yellowheart]

You are right.. it changed..

 

[low0927]

that's good

 

[davet]

I think most of us have done many things that were frowned upon by the State Department travel advisories. I guess I should start taking them more seriously, but they've always seemed designed for people who are afraid of anything foreign. 

[bcdaron]

4 hours ago, davet said:

I think most of us have done many things that were frowned upon by the State Department travel advisories. I guess I should start taking them more seriously, but they've always seemed designed for people who are afraid of anything foreign. 

Ditto, I am the worst. I feel they over blow everything. If I listened to them all the time I'd never leave my hotel in a foreign country.

[Latbear4blk]

Definitely, I am planning my expedition in November, moving away from fantasy territory. It is going to be very different to my previous experiences. Usually, I would stay in Copacabana to be closer to my favorite sauna, but I am not planning to hang out in indoors places this trip. I am exploring airbnbs in Recreio dos Bandeirantes and close to Praia Grumari.  It is an area I have not explored much, but liked a lot in my few visits.

Hopefully, I will find a roomy an open apartment with a terrace, as I am going to hang out there with the boys more than usual. I am aware than November may deliver a rainy week for me, so I want a place that does not feel crowded with 3/4 people.  Ideally, I would prefer to find a place at walking distance to go to Grumari and the protected area over there, without calling an Uber, but there is always the chance to rent a car to travel with my party, as most of the places I am checking include free parking.

I have a question for those with more experience and knowledge of Rio. Besides Praia Grumari, what other interesting places can you visit in the area? I am looking for nature, and I do not like heights (I have never visited the Pão de Açúcar, or the Cristo, and I am not planning to). I do love water, if anyone knows of a port or marina where I could rent equipment for superficial scuba diving.

We will probably cook and call deliveries mostly, but tips on good restaurants would also be appreciated.  I have been in a few posts on Avenida Estado da Guanabara where the food was quite good. I am not high maintenance, I prefer to eat what the locals eat and avoid the Brazilian experience adapted for international tourism as much as possible. I know it is challenging in areas nearby the beaches, but if anyone knows of any places, please let me know.

[Latbear4blk]

Done. I just booked a 2 BRs apartment with a small terrace right by Posto 9 of Praia do Recreo. I am bringing a beauty from Porto Alegre to stay the whole week with me. I am negotiating for a few more visitors, a few days each. Now let's hope Bolsonaro or Trump do not get between Paradise and me.

[bcdaron]

1 hour ago, Latbear4blk said:

Done. I just booked a 2 BRs apartment with a small terrace right by Posto 9 of Praia do Recreo. I am bringing a beauty from Porto Alegre to stay the whole week with me. I am negotiating for a few more visitors, a few days each. Now let's hope Bolsonaro or Trump do not get between Paradise and me.

Congrats on your fucksgiving weekend!

[Latbear4blk]

6 hours ago, bcdaron said:

Congrats on your fucksgiving weekend!

Do no diminish it, please. It is a whole Fucksgiving WEEK.

[tassojunior]

On 7/29/2020 at 9:47 PM, Riobard said:

The months-long entry ban was not renewed and air borders are now open, counterintuitively given the CoV incidence rate. It has joined a few other nations, however, in the requirement of health insurance to cover medical costs that could arise. 

Do you know who can visit Brazil and return home without even a quarantine at home. I usually travel with Europeans and they can't return home from Brazil without at least a 14-day strict quarantine. I'm surprised the US doesn't require one. 

[ChristianPFC]

Germans returning from risk areas just have to take a covid test when arriving at the airport and then are free to go home.

[floridarob]

I just checked in for my return flight....there's a statement that you have to check to continue....it asks, if anyone has traveled in the last 14 days to China, Iran or Brasil....the flight is coming from Brasil 

[sluttino]

On 8/22/2020 at 12:27 PM, Latbear4blk said:

Definitely, I am planning my expedition in November, moving away from fantasy territory. It is going to be very different to my previous experiences. Usually, I would stay in Copacabana to be closer to my favorite sauna, but I am not planning to hang out in indoors places this trip. I am exploring airbnbs in Recreio dos Bandeirantes and close to Praia Grumari.  It is an area I have not explored much, but liked a lot in my few visits.

Hopefully, I will find a roomy an open apartment with a terrace, as I am going to hang out there with the boys more than usual. I am aware than November may deliver a rainy week for me, so I want a place that does not feel crowded with 3/4 people.  Ideally, I would prefer to find a place at walking distance to go to Grumari and the protected area over there, without calling an Uber, but there is always the chance to rent a car to travel with my party, as most of the places I am checking include free parking.

I have a question for those with more experience and knowledge of Rio. Besides Praia Grumari, what other interesting places can you visit in the area? I am looking for nature, and I do not like heights (I have never visited the Pão de Açúcar, or the Cristo, and I am not planning to). I do love water, if anyone knows of a port or marina where I could rent equipment for superficial scuba diving.

We will probably cook and call deliveries mostly, but tips on good restaurants would also be appreciated.  I have been in a few posts on Avenida Estado da Guanabara where the food was quite good. I am not high maintenance, I prefer to eat what the locals eat and avoid the Brazilian experience adapted for international tourism as much as possible. I know it is challenging in areas nearby the beaches, but if anyone knows of any places, please let me know.

LatBear4blk:

you wrote: 

there is always the chance to rent a car to travel with my party, as most of the places I am checking include free parking.

I have a question for those with more experience and knowledge of Rio. Besides Praia Grumari, what other interesting places can you visit in the area?

 

My last visit in August 2019, my friends and I rented an small SUV (National Car Rental on Av. Pr.Isabella 1855842853) and drove out to Buzios.  Rented a huge 5 bedroom house with housekeeper, pool and great location... but there's lots of other smaller and cheaper places, too

our stay in Buzios:

Casa Buziana
Av. Geribá, 123 - Manguinhos
Búzios RJ 28950-000
$388 two nights
5 bdrms, 6 bath  wifi   pool  No smoking
energy and water consumed in the lodging will be charged
Cleaning Fee  $ 38    
Henrique +55 (21) 99962-4900
Mauren +55 (21) 97176-5583
https://www.vrbo.com/7343353ha

Buzios has an incredible number of beautiful coves and beaches, tour schooners, good beachside restaurants.  Grindr had plenty of interesting attractions there, too.

[Latbear4blk]

Who knows, I may actually end going to the saunas in November.

In the Brazilian Amazon, a sharp drop in coronavirus sparks questions over collective immunity