5-day quarantine begins. The best order of contact is travel agency → airline → overseas travel insurance company. This should be the first time for most people to test positive for a new type of corona infection overseas. Although you may feel anxious, it is important to first inform various places that you have tested positive. As your return date is approaching, you cannot afford to waste even a moment. The first step is to contact the local contact of the travel agency where you booked your airline tickets and hotel, and share the information with them. In this case, I called HIS “LeaLea Launce” in Honolulu. HIS is currently offering the “Hawaii Freedom Travel Anshin Pack,” which includes initial support at the time of a positive test, isolation and hospitalization support until returning home, and 24-hour telephone support. The support varies depending on the plan, ranging from “Economy,” which comes free of charge when booking airfare and hotel accommodations to Hawaii, to “Deluxe,” which includes the cost of PCR testing, reservation support, and airport transfers. This time, we chose the full-service “Deluxe A” (27,000 yen). When we called the hotel, they called us back at the hotel extension and immediately after the call, they arranged an extra night of quarantine (not including the extra night fee itself) and delivered a set of three items: thermometer, water (2 bottles), and “waiting list [quarantine] materials” to us. This made me feel much safer. I was so relieved to receive these three items. You should not be so optimistic. The best thing to do is to contact us immediately and ask for instructions. If you have arranged your flight through HIS, they will assist you with the change procedure, but if you have made your own arrangements, the next person you should contact is the airline company. Since your flight is coming up the next day, let them know first that you will not be able to return home as scheduled. Tell them that you will contact them again when you have a negative certificate and have decided to return home. Please note that depending on the type of ticket, you may not be able to change your flight. Even if you are able to change your flight, you may be required to submit a “Doctor’s Note,” so ask if you need to prepare one. Also, be prepared to lose a whole day because it is often difficult to get through on the phone to make a change! Also, as a basic rule, check in advance that your phone line is working properly. If you are using a travel agency, contact the local office immediately (in this case, the “LeaLea Lounge”).
Hotel Extension Arrangements
Notify the airline that you are unable to fly, and make the necessary changes.
Check if a doctor’s note is required
After completing the above, contact the customer support of the travel insurance company. Recently, many Japanese travelers do not have insurance, and there are many cases where medical expenses and hotel bills become expensive and impoverished. We recommend that you purchase insurance before leaving Japan. If a few thousand yen can buy you peace of mind in case of an “emergency” while in Japan, it is a small price to pay. If you are planning to take out a Corona Disaster insurance, it is even better to take out this insurance. This time, I contacted the local customer center, which is available 24 hours a day in Japanese, and asked about positive declarations and the documents required for insurance coverage. In my case, I prepared the following documents: “receipt for extra nights at a hotel during the quarantine period,” “certificate of positive corona test,” “certificate of negative corona test,” “doctor’s certificate (with quarantine period),” “receipt of medical fees,” “receipt of PCR test before returning home,” “e-ticket receipt for flight + difference between the flight home and the one you took. The documents to be prepared differ depending on the situation and insurance company, so please make sure to check them carefully. In the meantime, the first day of quarantine was over. Summary of the afternoon of the 1st day of quarantine ・Contact your overseas travel insurance company (report positives and ask for necessary documents)
On the second day of quarantine, don’t forget to make arrangements for necessities and schedule an appointment for a PCR test! The second day of quarantine started with a temperature check: 36.1°C, normal. There were no subjective symptoms of corona, but I was troubled by the lack of daily necessities. We decided to use the “Daily Necessities Arrangement” (delivery fee: $15 and up, not including tip and product purchase) included in the “LeaLea Support” of the “Hawaii Freedom Trip Anshin Pack”. They call me every day to check on my condition, and when they do, they ask, “What do you need?” so I don’t hesitate to ask. If it is urgent, you can contact the contact directly. By the way, it is not clear whether it is stress due to quarantine or positivity, but women have a higher chance of “getting their period,” so it is definitely a good idea to make arrangements, even if you don’t think it is necessary at the time. It is good to be specific about the number and type of pieces for normal days and for night or heavy days. The men should be concerned enough to make arrangements with you! Toilet paper, shampoo, and other amenities can be left in reserve at the door if you contact the front desk. LeaLea Delivery Service” (charged from $20 for delivery plus the cost of the item) is also available depending on the place of stay. If your hotel is near the Royal Hawaiian Center, the staff will deliver freshly prepared meals from the restaurants and food court in the building. There are a variety of restaurants from the well-known “Tsurutontan” and “Subway” in Japan to Thai food and burger dishes. Why not use it to accent your diet during times of isolation? Other options include utilizing Uber Eats, DOORDASH, or Grubhub for personal use and having them delivered to your room from the front desk. In addition, what you may want to do on the second day is to make an appointment for PCR testing after quarantine. I made another reservation at the “Waikiki PCR Testing Center” that I used the other day, but there is one thing to keep in mind here. That is the “appointment time”. Currently, the number of people allowed to enter Japan is limited to 20,000 per day. It is very difficult to arrange a flight ticket for the desired date and time within this limitation. In addition, there is a 72-hour time limit between the time of a negative test result and the time of the return flight, so it is necessary to make a reservation for the time of the test that matches the time of the flight you have targeted. For example, if you want to board a flight between 12:00 and 13:00, a morning test will give you a fast start, but will shorten the number of days you can book by one day. The author decided to use the “nasal swab PCR priority test (1-2 hours),” which provides results within 2 hours so that he can move immediately to his appointment. Summary of the second day of quarantine – “LeaLea Delivery Service” is convenient for obtaining daily necessities.
Food delivery services are also available.
If you run out of toilet paper or other amenities, please contact the front desk.
Book PCR testing appointment after quarantine is completed, taking into account flight and 72 hours
On the third to fifth day of quarantine, it is important to stay in the usual rhythm. By the third day of quarantine, life at the accommodation becomes closer to normal. The author was asymptomatic, so he teleworked without being too stressed, keeping a close eye on changes in his physical condition. I spent my time eating well and changing my mood by moving my body a little more and going out to the lanai to work. I recommend wearing sportswear that is easy to move around in. It is convenient to have a set of clothes because they can be washed quickly and dry quickly. In case of a sudden change in health, LeaLea Support will refer you to a doctor. In the latter half of the quarantine period, the people accompanying me have already returned to their home countries, and I feel “all alone.” I am greatly relieved when the support staff calls me daily for confirmation, and at the same time, I feel positive after a short conversation! I was also cheered up by the encouraging e-mails I received from the people who helped me. People in Hawaii are so kind! A useful thing to have with you during or after quarantine if you don’t test positive to negative easily is an over-the-counter self-test kit. The kits are available at CVS Health chain stores in the state of Hawaii, such as Longs Drugs, and range in price from $10 (one set) to $24 (two sets). The kits are provided by the store staff, so please ask them if they have the kits in stock before you buy. Note that during the quarantine, the hotel will not be cleaning the rooms, and the trash and towels will remain in the room for 5 days. You can call the front desk for extra towels, but they will not collect used towels. As for food, I thought the key to a comfortable stay is to not eat any cat food and not to choose food that might go bad. Summary of isolation days 3-5 – I recommend going out on the lanai (if you have it) for a change of scenery.
…a self-test kit would be a comfort.
The daily phone calls from the support staff warm my heart.
End of quarantine! Day 6 went to PCR test first thing in the morning. After negative result, get a doctor’s diagnosis & certificate. 5-day quarantine is completed, and on the 6th day, go to PCR test for return home. You will be required to wear a mask for 5 days after the quarantine, so make sure you wear it. The “nasal swab PCR priority test (1 to 2 hours)” gave us a negative result before 11:00 a.m. We immediately contacted the “LeaLea Lounge” and were referred to a local doctor for a checkup. I was then able to obtain a medical certificate (a medical certificate must be submitted when requested by the insurance company or airline). Remember to keep a PDF of your travel insurance policy number on your phone, as you will need it when you see the doctor. What I noticed here is that because I had booked and tested both the first and second tests at the affiliated Waikiki PCR Testing Center from “LeaLea Web”, it was smooth to share the test results and quarantine period with the doctor. We were able to move quickly after a negative test while maintaining our speed. This probably would not have happened if we had chosen a different PCR testing center. It was also a moment when it paid off to have the test done at the proper partner. We then submitted the doctor’s certificate to the airline as well and completed the booking of our return flight. I also arranged for a shuttle bus to take me to the airport. I could never have done this smoothly on my own, so I can only express my gratitude to those who supported me locally. Summary of the day after quarantine was completed ・Retest of PCR for returning home
Referral to a local doctor for consultation and medical certificate
Arrangement of return flights
Arrangement of shuttle bus to airport
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