How may Covid-19  affect my fishing trip to the Amazon?

03/09/2021

 

Covid19 numbers:

Six months after our last Covid19 update report, the virus is still haunting the world population. The game changer now is that vaccination is becoming available fast in most parts of the world, and according the US Government, all adults will be vaccinated by end of May.

Brazil is now the third country in number of Covid19 cases, behind India and the USA.  In the last months of 2020 and the first couple of months in 2021 the number of Covid19 cases in the Amazon State have surged, with a peak of 3,500 cases and 152 deaths per day in February.  With local actions taken, the current numbers plummeted to 493 cases and 22 deaths per day. Considering the size of the population, these numbers are on par with the ones here in the State of Georgia, which reported 752 cases and 43 deaths yesterday.

 

Travel Restrictions:

There is currently not a travel ban from the US to Brazil; however, travelers are required to test negative prior to entering in Brazil and re-entering in the USA. Eventually, if you are vaccinated, that requirement will be waived, but that is not how it works now.

A travel insurance with health coverage is recommended, but no longer required.

 

Flights:

American Airlines temporarily discontinued their non-stop flight which allowed travelers to reach the city of Manaus in about 5 hours of departing from Miami.

Copa Airlines offers direct flights to Manaus, departing from Panama. 

 

 

08/13/2020 - Brazil continues in second position, behind the USA only, in number of Covid19 cases. The number of Covid19 daily cases in the Amazon Region (which is the starting point of our fishing trips) has decreased to around 700 and the number of daily deaths to about 14. In the State of Georgia, for example, the number of new daily Covid19 cases has increased to about 2,500 and the number of daily deaths now nears 40 (according to the report issued by the Fulton County on August 10). 

On a positive note, Brazil has also opened its borders to foreign visitors; however, Manaus currently do not have international flights coming in and out of its International Airport. All arrivals to Manaus will require a stop over in a major Brazilian city in the States of Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, which will increase the duration of the air travel. 

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07/24/2020 - Brazil is the country with the second highest number of Covid19 cases in the world, behind only to the USA. The Amazon Region was badly impacted in the early days, but it is now one of the few states in Brazil where the number of cases have been significantly reduced (18%). In the Amazon, the current number of daily cases of Covid19 is around 1,000 and the number of daily deaths due to Covid19 is around 18.  For comparison purposes, the state of Georgia has around 2,000 new daily cases and around 20 daily deaths (according to a July 22 report, issued by the Fulton County). 

 

Although the situation is far from being under control, the State of Amazon has issued an official note to inform that fishing activities in the region will resume in September.

 

Yacht Marie, the partner that I proposed for our trip, has taken the matter seriously and issued a number of changes to their operational procedures to mitigate health issues due to Covid19; which I will be happy to share with you if you are interested.

 

In additional to the heath concerns we all have, one other collateral effect from Covid19 is the air travel policy imposed by both countries, Brazil and the USA. As of today, there are severe restrictions to enter Brazil, and unless you are a Brazilian citizen, or have family there, or have a critical reason to be there, international travel is not allowed. On top of that, most of US airlines have either cancelled or reduced their flights to/from Brazil.

 

The Peacock Bass season in the Amazon is from September to December (maybe to early January if the river level permits).  The possibility to charter a Yacht for Peacock Fishing in the Amazon for a closed group in the future is still on the table;  it will largely depend on how successful both countries are to control the virus, the opening of borders, the availability of flights and, eventually, the availability of a vaccine.

 

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03/18/2020 - At this point, it is still unclear how this global health crisis will further develop in the short and in the long term, thus we must monitor it closely.  The climate in the Brazilian Amazon is tropical year-long and it does not seem favorable to the expansion of the virus; as of today, only one case has been reported, with no deaths. Having said that, little is known about the virus and the effectiveness of the preventive measures taken at local levels to mitigate and eliminate it, which makes the future even hard to be predicted at this point of time. It seems like the next 30-45 days will be critical for a better understanding of the severity of the situation in different geographies and subsequent prognosis.

 

We do hope that by September (6 months from now), we will have our lives back and be able to socialize in person again, so at this point of time we are not making any changes to the dates of the trips. 

 

Having said that, it is not reasonable to expect that anyone interested in our fishing trips is able to confirm the trip and pay a deposit before we are all pretty confident that the trip is safe and viable (airlines, hotels, etc. are all operating normally). The March 31st deadline for the deposit is no longer valid!  A new deadline will be established and communicated when the levels of uncertainty and concern permit a decision to be made with reasonable confidence.

 

Our commitment to our clients is supported by 3 pillars, Safety, Affordability and Fun; rest assured that among the three, safety comes in first place. 

 

Do not hesitate to contact me in case of questions and concerns.

 

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