Fear and anxiety have become all too familiar emotions for many of us during this pandemic. The constant talk of statistics, graphs, maps, and trending numbers of cases is enough to make an iceberg anxious. If you are going to travel, don’t allow the stress of the situation to rob you of your precious health. Here are some helpful tips to help keep you and your loved ones safe.
***NOTE*** If you or your loved ones are sick, or have been around anyone with COVID 19 in the last 14 days, please heed the CDC guidelines, and do not travel.
Wash your hands often and keep your hands off of your face
I know you are hearing this a lot, but this one is very important, guys. Wash your hands often, and keep hand sanitizer on hand for those times when you don’t readily have access to soap and water. Please, please, please don’t use your freshly washed hands to turn off the running water (consider what the first thing you touched was after using the commode). Also, take care to pick a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content, as it will be the most effective. I try to keep a small bottle in each vehicle, one in my handbag, and one in each of the high traffic areas of the home.
Make it a point to wash your hands before you handle food, before you eat, before (yes before) and after you use the restroom, and after touching any frequently touched surfaces. This will also serve to keep your hands cleaner for those times when you inadvertently rub your eyes or scratch your nose, which happens more than you think. Try to Become more aware of how often you actually put your hands on your face. This takes practice, but once you start paying attention, you can prevent yourself from doing it as often.
Consider your transportation options
- Traveling by plane: Be sure to check with the airlines prior to your flight, as many airlines have implemented additionalprocedures, and you’ll want to know if they are running at full or partial capacity. A full flight means that there may not be adequate social distancing. Many airlines, however, are not running at full capacity, and are requiring face masks be worn by all crew members and passengers. According to the WHO, the cabin air in today’s passenger aircraft is completely replaced nearly every two minutes, and the airlines state that the HEPA filters utilized by the planes filter between 99.7 and 99.9 percent of airborne particles. Crowded airport terminals, and full flights can pose a higher risk here.
- Traveling by car: If you chose to travel by car, you have more control over your immediate environment, however, depending upon the length of your journey, you may need to make multiple stops at locations with multiple high touch surfaces. You can mitigate the risk in this scenario with increased hand washing and frequent use of hand sanitizer. You may even want to consider bringing along some sanitizing wipes.
When you are considering your travel options, weigh in which option makes you feel most comfortable. Being anxious and stressed can have an adverse affect on your health. So, if one option feels better to you, that may just be the best choice.
Ensure that your hotel has prevention measures in place.
Prior to choosing a hotel for your overnight stay, check the hotel’s website to see if they have posted their enhanced safety and cleaning measures online. If they haven’t, you may want to call and check on this. Verify that they are disinfecting all high touch surfaces, and that masks are required to be worn in common areas of the hotel. If they don’t have any predefined measures in place, that should be a red flag and you should consider selecting a different hotel for your stay.
Wear a well fitting mask and maintain social distancing
Increasing your distance decreases your risk, plain and simple. Try to avoid situations where you are unable to maintain a six-foot distance between you and those who are not members of your household. The longer time frame that you are within
close proximity to others, the higher your risk of exposure. Wearing a mask also helps to reduce the spread of the virus. In fact, the CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield says, “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus” .
My mask protects you and your mask protects me. I wear one when I am out and about because if I have been infected, and I am unaware of it, I would hate to be the cause of others becoming ill. Just as you may be infected and may not be aware of it, so I would appreciate it if you would wear your mask before coming near my personal space.
The mask should be well fitting, covering both your nose and mouth. You want to handle it by the ear-loops. Try to avoid touching the mask itself. Contaminated hands can contaminate the mask, and a contaminated mask can contaminate your hands, you get the idea…
Check CDC guidelines
Avoid stressing yourself out over your neighbor’s opinion about travel during the pandemic. It’ll only cause you more wrinkles, and the stress is bad for your overall well-being. We all have our own comfort level, so get your information straight from a trusted source. The CDC has published recommended safe practices for all kinds of travel. From heading to your local library and nail salon to relaxing on public beaches, you can find information on their site:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/personal-social-activities.html
Be informed and travel safely
Venturing outside of our normal day to day routine to explore new places, soak in new sights, and experience life in a different light can be extremely beneficial to our health in many ways. You CAN take advantage of the health benefits of travel while considering your safety and the safety of others during the pandemic.
