Beth Ring and her husband tested positive for the disease while on vacation in Jamaica.
The couple spent two days in a state-run hotel.
Beth told Insider that she wished she had purchased travel insurance.
Beth Ring was relaxing in Jamaica on Christmas morning.
Beth, her husband Dan, their five children, and their son's girlfriend were at the Mais Oui Villa for eight days, and they said it cost $2,250 a night.
Beth told Insider that they took a number of precautions, including getting their booster shots, eating outdoors, and masked up in public.
As the trip came to a close, Beth noticed a dry throat and cough. Beth said that she and her family took at- home tests the day before she was going to return to Chicago.
Beth and her husband tested positive for alcohol after a negative test.
The couple ended up spending two-and-a-half days in a government-run hotel before they decided to pay $35,000 for a private air ambulance, a service that is becoming more and more popular among those who can afford it.
When they traveled to Jamaica, the Health Ministry required travelers who tested positive to be in a hospital for 10 days. Positive travelers can either find accommodations at their own expense or go to a government-run hotel under the original policy.
Beth and Dan said they had limited options. Mais Oui is rented to one group at a time, so quarantining there wasn't possible. The owner of the villa told Insider that they have arrangements in place to accept COVID-19 positive guests with other villas and properties, however, at the time of Beth and Dan's travel, those locations were booked due to an influx of holiday vacationers. According to the Jamaica Observer, in December, Jamaica experienced a surge in tourists.
They were unable to find another hotel with an open room because everything was booked.
They were able to book a room at the El Greco Resort. Beth knew El Greco wouldn't have a private chef, butler, or luxury surroundings. She said spotty wi-fi, lack of hot water, and concerns about the hotel's COVID-19 protocols made Beth and Dan charter the private flight home. Jamaica's Ministry of Health did not respond to Insider's requests for comment about the accommodations.
The couple checked in and wired Air Ambulance Worldwide $35,000 on December 26.
In the event that Beth and Dan got sicker, a private air ambulance service would take them back to the US for medical care.
They are not the only ones looking for this type of travel. There has been a surge in demand for private air since March of 2020. Private jet travel is a go-to option for those who can afford it because it eliminates the need to enter crowded airports or airplanes.
The private jet boom has been created by the H1N1 swine flu, and according to a report, departures this year from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, a popular private-jet terminal, was up 61% from a year earlier.
These planes are not cheap. A private flight for a family of four from New York City to Washington, DC could cost between $10,000 and $50,000, according to CNBC.
Beth reached out to emergency air-evacuation companies for price estimates. Air Ambulance Worldwide quoted them between $30,000 and $35,000 for a flight, while another company quoted them twice that amount.
Representatives for Air Ambulance Worldwide did not reply to the request for comment. According to Ross Thompson, the CEO of Covac Global, his company completed over 60 air evacuates between Christmas and January 6. He said that Covac does two or three evacuations a month.
Medical charters are quite different from private planes.
Beth and Dan said that Air Ambulance Worldwide was able to find a plane for them to leave on December 29 if they had a letter of approval from Jamaica&s medical director. She told Insider that they submitted the request and waited, and after 20 minutes, the letter arrived stating that they were fit to fly, as the medical air evacuate was a permitted practice.
They boarded the plane and it landed in Chicago.
Beth said the flight was not a typical charter flight since it was an air ambulance. Beth and Dan wore masks and there was no bathroom on the plane.
Beth said that if they had been able to stay at the Mais Oui, they might have stayed, but they wanted to go home as soon as possible.
Beth thought that booking a private villa would be the safest way to vacation since it seemed more isolated than a resort with fully-vaccinated staff and meals served outdoors.
We cannot guarantee that our guests won't get COVID-19, however, we go above and beyond most villas to provide an environment with protocols to reduce the odds as much as possible in our villa.
Beth said she would consider a resort for future vacations if there was a chance of another state-run quark.
She told Insider that she wanted to do more research on COVID-19 travel insurance. Depending on the location and length of the trip, Covac Global will cover the cost of a private flight if needed. Beth said that Covac wasn't accepting clients at the time she was there.
Beth wondered what would have happened if a room at El Greco hadn't opened up and if she wasn't in the position to afford a charter.
She said there were so many ways it could have been worse.
The original article can be found on Insider.
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