Travel in the time of COVID-19

NCFA member agency Hopscotch Adoptions submitted this guest post on behalf of a family who recently traveled to complete the adoption of their daughter Sofija from Serbia. As one of the first families invited to travel to complete an intercountry adoption from Europe, there are a number of helpful insights, tips, and lessons learned that will be helpful for families who are still waiting for their invitation to travel and finally bring their children home.

We were ready. We had completed all of the paperwork and it was time bring home our daughter-to-be, Sofija! The countdown was on and we were leaving to adopt her in seven days! Then came the news that President Trump closed the borders to travelers from Europe. Fearing the worst we immediately began communicating with our agency, Hopscotch Adoptions. Serbia was still open and the decision was ours. Travel or wait and see? We had a quick meeting with our family and the decision was unanimous - pick up Sofija now! But then on March 15, our plans came to a screeching halt when Serbia’s President Aleksander Vucic declared a state of emergency and nearly every flight in the world was cancelled due to Covid-19. We were in limbo as we watched the news and prayed.

Nearly two months later in mid-May, we opened our emails to amazing news! We had been invited to come to Serbia and begin the final stages of our adoption process in-country on June 1... if we were willing to follow certain requirements. Booking flights turned out to be more challenging than we expected, so much so that this mama emailed the White House about 15 times begging for a ride. Finally we got some help from Adoption Airfare who found us a route to Belgrade!

The requirements to travel were strict and ever changing. We needed a negative Covid test which had to be administered less than 72 hours before landing and our best flight options had us flying and in airports for about 40 of those hours. We ended up getting the test while driving across our state to the airport. Talk about cutting it close. To enter Serbia, we had to have a special permit, so there were several calls to the Serbian Embassy in Washington, DC to obtain it.

We bought 200 paper masks because masks were required for flights, in airports, and by everyone we were going to see in Serbia. I also packed plenty of hand sanitizer and we started religiously taking our vitamins.

On May 30, OKC airport looked like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie: nearly deserted and with very few flights coming and going. Dallas was more lively and we were able to eat lunch at a restaurant before boarding our long flight to London. The trans-atlantic flight was half empty and the only business open at the London airport was a convenience store where cold sandwiches and chips comprised the menu. The last leg of the journey into Belgrade surprised us - every seat on the plane was full! It was actually kind of refreshing for things to seem more normal for a minute - except for the masks.

Our time in Serbia was amazing, but different than pre-Covid adoption trips. While we visited Sofija at her orphanage for bonding, we had a strict routine every time we came and left. Wearing masks upon arrival, our shoes were bleached at entry and we washed up and donned lab coats to cover our clothes. Then we were taken to a room that had been set aside and isolated for us for a week to visit with our daughter. In that room, we changed into clothing that we kept at the orphanage before Sofija came in to spend time with us. When we left each day, we changed back into our original clothes, donned the lab coats, and exited. We wore masks for all official appointments which at this point felt like a part of our wardrobe. Aside from these precautions, things were pretty normal most of our time in-country.