Given the events of the last few days, I decided it’s time to make a COVID plan! 

If you’re not based in New Zealand and aren’t overly aware of what’s going on down here, you’re probably thinking something like; “Lady, you’re about 18-24 months late.” But long story short, up until now, COVID has been very well contained down here, and many of us have not yet been in contact with the virus or had to think about things like self-isolation. 

However, with Omicron now in the community and our government having accepted the fact that elimination is no longer the best strategy, it seems like it’s only a matter of time until most of us will come into contact with COVID in one way or another. 

Like many others who are either full-time travellers or on bigger trips where they might not be able to get home should they need to isolate, I’ve been thinking about what all of this means for me. What if I need to isolate? What if I get COVID? Most of the official advice is tailored to people who live normal lives in normal houses, so not all of it works for me. 

I don’t like uncertainty at the best of times, and given I’ve already been stuck in lockdown in Auckland for four months last year and now in Christchurch for a month while I wait for van repairs to be done, I’m having itchy feet and feel nervous about the idea that COVID might further disrupt my travel plans for the summer. I realise that a lot of this is out of my control – but there are some things that I can control. One of them is about how well prepared I am if I find myself in a situation where I need to self-isolate, either because I have symptoms, test positive, or am a close contact. 

I think this is one of those situations where, right now, it’s pretty easy to think rationally about what I would do, but if I am in the situation, it would probably be stressful and thinking clearly would be much harder. Therefore, I’ve decided to write up my plan so that if it happens, I can refer back to it and follow the steps. In addition, having a plan makes me feel more relaxed about it all, so hopefully, I can enjoy what’s left of summer. 

Once I had written it all up, I figured I might as well share my plan. 

I know many people who are either living full-time on the road or are on longer trips and might not be able to get home right away should they need to isolate are worried about this. If that’s you, I hope that reading about my plan might help you put together your plan. 

Sharing my plan is also a great way to sense-check it. 

So, please let me know if you have any feedback, think I’ve forgotten something or have suggestions on how to do it better. 

But PLEASE, no negative talk about the situation we’re in, how the government is responding to it or whether these restrictions make sense or not. Keep it positive, please! 

So, here is my COVID Plan

What I do if I have symptoms, am a close contact or was at a location of interest:

1. Isolate in my van immediately

2. Read through my plan to refresh my memory

3. Call Healthline: 0800 358 5453 

   1. Get general advice on when to get tested and what else to do

   2. Specifically mention that I live in a van and ask about self-isolation advice specific to my situation.

      1. Should I isolate in my van? Where should I park? 

      2. Can I use dump stations and public freshwater fill points? 

         1. YES: what precautions can I take to minimise the risk of spread? 

         2. NO: I can’t self-isolate in my van without using a dump station every 3-4 days. What do you suggest I do? 

      3. Can I leave the van to go for walks if I’m in an area where it’s easy to stay away from people? If so, what precautions can I take to minimise the risk of spread? 

   3. Should I put a self-isolating notice in my winder (more about this below)? 

4. Get tested (follow advice from health officials on when and where to get tested)

5. Depending on where I am, I will either call the local council or the campground where I’m staying at the time to get advice on whether I can stay or need to move. 

6. If I’m on a private campground and they ask me to leave, I would call the council and/or Healthline to get advice on where to go. 

7. Call a friend to tell them what’s happening and ask them to check in with me daily to make sure I’m doing OK (both physically and mentally). 

8. Follow the advice given by Healthline and the council and stay put until I’m cleared to leave. 

 

If I have COVID

I think at this point, the chances of needing to isolate because I’m a close contact are significantly higher than actually having COVID. But I wanted to be prepared in case the test comes back positive. 

1. Follow all of the steps above if not already happened (chances are, I’m already isolating and have already spoken with health officials)

2. Wait for the call from health officials and follow their advice.

   1. Mention my specific situation again (even if I already talked to them about it. Don’t assume they remember or took note of it). 

   2. If I haven’t had a call within 24 hours, call Healthline to ask for advice. 

3. Monitor my symptoms closely 

   1. I think it’s important to be aware that becoming seriously sick comes with some additional challenges for me, starting with the fact that I live on my own and might be in an area I don’t know very well, far away from people I know, followed by the question of what to do with the van should I need to go to hospital (worst case scenario thinking at work here). 

What if I get unwell? 

I’m pretty confident that I could cope with COVID on my own. I’m healthy, generally seem to have a good immune system (I hardly ever get sick) and am double vaxxed and will get my Booster as soon as I can. However, you never know, so here is my plan in case I feel like my symptoms are getting worth, to the point where I’m concerned about my health. 

1. Take action early. Don’t wait till it’s too late. Make a plan as soon as I experience significant symptoms. 

2. Ask health officials about:

   1. What do I do if symptoms get sever? 

   2. At what point do I need to get help? 

   3. How/where can I access medical care if needed? Chances are, my GP will be miles away, and I might not be very familiar with the area I’m in. 

   4. What if I need to go to hospital? 

      1. What would I do with my van? 

      2. How would I get there? Can I drive myself? 

3. Get prepared based on the answers given above. Ensure I know who to call and/or where to go if things worsen. 

4. Pack a bag with the essentials so I can just grab it if I need to go to hospital or MIQ

 

Self-Isolating 

If I need to self-isolate, there seem to be two possible scenarios; Health officials advise that I should self-isolate in my van, or they advise that I need to move into an MIQ facility. Official communication from the Ministry of Health, shared in several motorhome related Facebook groups earlier this week, confirmed that isolating in a motorhome is a valid option, so I think that will be the most likely scenario for me. 

Isolating in the Van

If I have to isolate in my van, there are six key things I need:

1.     Food

Covid or no Covid, a girl’s got to eat. While I can technically order food and other items from supermarkets online and have it delivered contactless, that might take a few days. I might not be close enough to a supermarket or might not be able to get a delivery slot for a few days. Therefore, I plan to have enough non-perishable food with me to keep me fed (and happy) for four days. Ready-made or camping meals are great for this. They might not be the tastiest, but they last. A big jar of peanut butter and crackers are also great. Muesli and long-life milk will feed me for breakfast, and nuts, cookies and chocolate will keep me happy between meals.

2.     Dump Station Access

If I’m self-isolating in my van, I will need access to a dump station every 3-4 days. Most likely, this will be a public facility. In general, I will follow the advice from health officials and/or local councils around how, when and where to use the dump station. However, I have also bought extra gloves and sanitiser to minimise the risk of spread. 

3.     Water

Just like I need a dump station every 3-4 days, I will need to fill up my fresh water tank. However, I also have a big 10-litre container with additional drinking water. I actually have had this in the van ever since I started travelling, just in case I ever get stuck in the middle of nowhere with an empty tank – water is the one thing you don’t want to run out of. In COVID times, this will come in handy if I have to go into isolation right when my tank is running low, and it takes a day or two to get advice on where to fill up. 

4.     Power

I need to keep the batteries charged so I can keep my phone charged as well as my laptop (so I can binge on Netflix – cause what else am I going to do…). Ideally, I am somewhere where I can plug into power. However, I’m aware that might not be the case. As long as it’s sunny, my solar panels should produce enough power to keep me going and, as long as I’m feeling well enough, I can also go for a drive to top up the batteries if needed. My backup plan is to turn off my fridge, given that it is by far the biggest consumer of power in my van. Thanks to my box of non-perishable food (which I will stock up via online grocery orders if needed), I could turn the fridge off if needed and live off food that doesn’t need to be chilled. 

5.     Gas

I need gas for cooking and heating (if it’s cold). Technically, I could survive a few days without gas, but let’s just say being stuck in my van without the ability to make coffee does not sound fun (not that being stuck in a van WITH coffee sounds like fun…). Access to my gas bottle is outside of my van, so I’m thinking I could get someone to fill it up without needing to come into contact with them. In addition, I will take this as a reason to do something I’ve been thinking about for a while: get a small camping stove with gas canisters. I want one for tramping anyway, and that way, I have a backup in case I run out of gas.  

6.     Entertainment

To be honest, as someone very good at entertaining herself, I’m not too worried about this. As long as I have power to keep my laptop, phone and Kindle going, I will be fine. And if I do run out of power, I could always write my next book the old-school way or entertain myself with the contents of my arts and craft box . 

 

Self-Isolating Poster

Part of the government advice is to let people know you’re self-isolating by putting a poster on your door. To be honest, I’m a bit unsure about this one, especially if I’m parked in a public area. I’m worried it could make people really nervous, maybe to the point where they could get aggressive towards me. Unfortunately, campers aren’t always welcome everywhere at the best of times, and COVID has definitely put some people on edge. I plan to have the poster ready and then make a call depending on where I am and what the local council, campground and/or health officials advise. 

 

Isolating in an MIQ Facility

I feel like this option will become less and less likely as more people have COVID. However, given my circumstances, there is a chance that health officials will ask me to move into an MIQ facility – especially if I actually have COVID (as opposed to isolating because I’m a close contact). 

In a way, it would make life easier since I wouldn’t have to worry about any of the things listed above, other than keeping myself entertained. However, when I thought through this scenario I realised that I didn’t have a big enough bag to pack all my things. I would have to rock up at MIQ with 5-6 shopping bags which could raise some eyebrows (not to mention it would be hard to carry those on my own). So, I bought myself a bag that’s big enough for the essentials I would have to take into MIQ with me. 

The other big question is what I would do with the van if I moved into MIQ. However, that’s not something I can really plan for, given I don’t know where I will be. So I just have to leave this one for now and remember to ask if I find myself in the situation.

  

My COVID Pack

I’m putting together a COVID Pack with everything I will need in case I need to isolate. Here is what I plan to put in it so far (some of this I already have, the rest is on the shopping list). 

• Masks

• Gloves

• Sanitiser

• Self-Isolating Poster printed

• Tissues

• Throat Lozenges

• Ibuprofen

• Nose spray

• Cold and Flu Drink (the hot one)

• Cough Medicine 

• Non-perishable food to last at least four days

• Camping stove and gas canisters 

 

Alright, there you go, that’s my COVID plan.

I know it probably seems a bit over the top for some, and it probably is. But given there has been a lot of uncertainty and disruption in my life lately, I wanted to do what I could to feel more in control. Ever since I wrote up this plan, I feel more relaxed about it all, so it’s done its job for now. 

Again, if you have any additional suggestions or ideas of things I should consider, please let me know! But please keep it friendly and positive :)