Remember the before times, when you could simply purchase a ticket, book a hotel, pack and head out?
Sigh…
In preparation for our recent trip to Dubai, we did all the planning and booking you usually take care of before a trip, and then we scheduled our COVID-PCR tests. Our departure was scheduled on Saturday evening at 4pm, and we had to make sure we took the test no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure, per Dubai’s travel requirements. We got an appointment for early morning Thursday, arrived at the testing site on time, swabbed our mouths, popped the kits into plastic bags, and deposited them in the collection bin. The technician assured us that we would have our results within 48 hours of taking the test, and we happily went off to breakfast.
Twenty-four hours later, Brendan got a text confirming that his test had been received by the lab, but Kelly received no such text. Twelve hours later, still no text, and we were beginning to get worried. Kelly was talking to the people from the lab to try and find out what became of her sample, and Brendan was scrambling for somewhere else we could get a rapid PCR test late in the afternoon THE DAY BEFORE TRAVEL. A call to a nearby hospital got us directions to a rapid test center near the airport, and with just minutes to spare before they closed for the night, we were able to get the test administered. At 8:00pm, the original lab emailed Kelly to say that her sample had been lost and there was nothing they could do to help.
Thank goodness for a great network of clinics and providers who know how and where to get tested. We received the results from the second rapid test on Saturday morning and the hotel staff helped us get the test results printed for travel. We made our flight, but the stress level was pretty high there for awhile, and it ended up costing us $170 instead of $0.
Mandatory COVID testing is one of the least glamorous aspects of traveling in 2021, but it is important and necessary for safety and security. If you’re planning to travel and need to get pre-tested, here are some tips:
- Try to get tested as early as possible within the required time window.
- Take a picture of your sample bar code – this is how labs track the samples and how they will trace it if it is mislabeled or misplaced.
- Monitor your sample after it goes to the lab.
- Don’t let 24 hours pass without communication from the lab. If they aren’t talking to you, call them.
- Know where the closest Rapid Test center is and what their hours are, just in case.
- Many hotels can arrange for a technician to come to you. Ask your concierge to help.
We’re both looking forward to the day when we can simply show our vaccination paperwork before departing on our next flight.
Have you had trouble getting tested? Let us know if you have any good testing tips in the comments
Note: We deliberately left out the name of the lab that lost Kelly’s sample, but they are one of the largest and most common pop-up testing labs on both coasts. To date, they have declined to reimburse us for the cost of the replacement test, despite their obvious negligence.
Add Some Glamour 