Her trip to Italy was over. Then she tested positive for COVID-19.
Sandra Rizzolo’s eightday Italy vacation was coming to an end, with just a trans-Atlantic flight back to Orlando left. She felt healthy, with just a dry throat, the result, she thought, of being in colder temperatures.
But then airport authorities pulled her into a separate room on Jan. 3 and showed her she’d tested positive for COVID-19, and wouldn’t be allowed to fly home with her husband and the other couple with whom they’d traveled.
“We felt comfortable because we’re all fully vaccinated and have our boosters and wear our masks,” she said of the trip to the Piedmont region of Italy.
She said she was told to quarantine for five days to recover. While Italy has designated hotels available for people who test positive to stay in, she said she was told at the airport that none of them had rooms available for her and that she’d need to find an apartment to quarantine in. Hotels required guests to be COVID negative, she said.
Sitting in the Milan Malpensa Airport for more than six hours, she scanned AirBnb before finding an apartment nearby in Gallarate.
“I was very fortunate [to find something], I think because it was right after the holiday,” she said.
The Italian government requires U.S. travelers to have a negative molecular PCR test within three days of arriving, and either be fully vaccinated or have medical clearance that they’ve recovered from COVID-19 within the past six months, in order to enter the country. While to board a U.S.-bound flight, you must show a negative test within a day of travel.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns U.S. travelers to “avoid travel to Italy,” and tags the nation with a Level 4 threat for COVID-19, its highest designation, meaning there are very high levels of the virus circulating there. The classification was announced less than two weeks before the Rizzolos were due to travel. Too late, they figured, to cancel.
“U.S. citizens who choose to travel internationally should be aware that they may face unexpected
challenges related to COVID-19 as they attempt return to the United States or attempt to travel from one overseas destination to another,” according to a notice on the U.S. State Department’s website. “If you choose to travel internationally, be sure to make contingency plans, as you may find yourself having to remain in a foreign country longer than originally planned.”
On their trip, they rented a car and toured wineries, taking in the sights of the region. Masks are required indoors and outdoors there.
Rizzolo, who works for a human resources company and lives in College Park, said her husband Chris flew home, since they have a 10-year-old daughter to take care of, while Sandra stayed to quarantine.
She passed the time doing some reading on her iPad and watching movies. She didn’t travel with her laptop so she wasn’t able to work remotely, and had to use sick days to account for the quarantine.
“I had to contact my boss and they had offered COVID time you could use through Dec. 31, and I missed the cut-off by 3 days,” Sandra Rizzolo said. “I was able to at least walk outside and get some fresh air.”
The city she was staying in didn’t have grocery delivery and had limited food delivery options, which also was an obstacle. She said she wore two masks to visit a small local market to get groceries — curbside service wasn’t available — and frequently used Uber Eats to order pizza, pasta and sandwiches.
She said on Jan. 6, most restaurants were closed for the national holiday of Epiphany, so she ordered McDonald’s.
In all, her quarantine cost close to $1,000 including accommodations and food.
United Airlines rebooked her on a flight at no added cost, she said.
On Jan. 9, she went to at the airport with documentation that she’d recovered from the virus from a virtual appointment with her doctor. She also tested negative at the airport and was able to come home.
Sandra Rizzolo said those who choose to travel overseas amid the pandemic should be prepared with a plan for what to do if a positive test derails travel plans. And that people should know local quarantine rules, and not to think a similar scenario couldn’t happen to them.
“Don’t even think that way,” she said. “If you’re going to travel overseas, have a backup plan and a place you can stay.”