Holiday Travel: Covid Edition
The holiday season is upon us and this year, as with most things in 2020, travel is going to be a bit different. There are a lot of factors to consider when planning your holiday travel, including whether it is safe to travel at all. Unfortunately, cases in the United States continue to rise by the day and we are losing hundreds of our countrymen every day.
In a year in which many of us have been in some form of lockdown, quarantine, or self-isolation for months, mental health has also become an issue. Being shut in for weeks or months at a time has had a drastic impact on the mental health of many Americans. The holidays are a special time where we can be around the ones we love and feel a little bit of relief from the isolation, and also some of that holiday magic. However, stepping out of our "COVID bubble" can present risks to ourselves and those we care about the most. With that in mind, this blog is aimed at helping you decide if, when, and how to travel for the holidays.
Is It Safe to Travel?
The question of safety takes on many forms. First, is it safe for you to see the people that you want to be around for the holidays? As we have seen over the past 8+ months, COVID-19 does not discriminate. This virus can affect anyone no matter your age, sex, location, etc. However, we also know now that there are certain groups of people who, if infected with COVID-19, have a higher risk of serious complications (including the risk of death). These people include the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and people with comorbidities like COPD, heart disease, and diabetes (you can find more information on medical conditions which put people are higher risk here).
We have also learned that hundreds of thousands of people have been infected with the virus and didn't even know it, all the while having the ability to spread it to others (aka being Asymptomatic). So, when you are deciding whether to visit family or friends for the holidays, be cognizant whether anyone you may see falls into a higher risk category. While you may be healthy and feeling great, you could very well be asymptomatic and run the risk of passing the virus on unknowingly to someone who would not fare as well as you. The last thing you want is to be responsible for someone you love getting sick, especially during the holidays.
Second, if you make the decision that it is safe for you and/or your family members to be together for the holidays, is the actual act of traveling safe? That is, will the mode of transportation you use to travel for the holidays be safe? The CDC and doctors all around the country have addressed this topic throughout the pandemic. Overwhelmingly, the consensus on the "safest" mode of travel is to drive yourself. Since you will be alone or with those who live in your household, you will not be exposed to anyone outside of your bubble. Depending on the length of your drive you may not need to stop at all. If you need to stop for gas, pay at the pump and avoid going inside the gas station. If you need to use the restroom, find a rest area and wear a mask at all times. And with both gas stations and rest areas, wash your hands and sanitize when done!
After driving yourself, air travel would be the next safest due to the extreme precautions airlines have been taking this year. From mandatory mask mandates, extensive cleaning practices, sanitizing wipes for all passengers, and the HEPA Air Filters used within the aircraft, flying has shown to be a safe mode of travel with very few instances of COVID transmission since the pandemic began. If you want to learn more about the HEPA Air Filter system and how it helps keep the air on planes safe, this article is a great resource: "Why Do HEPA Air Filters Protect Us From COVID-19 On Planes?"
Train and bus travel would be the other options, but these modes of travel are less safe. From less effective ventilation systems, to less safety restrictions, to less enforcement of safety procedures due to little (or no) staff on board, there are much greater risks of exposure. With train and bus travel you cannot pick your seat ahead of time or view a seat map to know whether someone will be next to you. There are also several stops along the route in which you will potentially be exposed to new people at each stop. Overall, these modes of travel are probably not the best bet if you want to ensure you're staying as healthy and protected as possible.
Getting Tested
Since the beginning of this pandemic, one of the areas in which the United States has failed the most is the availability and efficiency of testing. For many people around the country, getting a COVID-19 test is not an easy task. There may not be any testing facilities where you live or there may be just a few but with no available appointments or long lines. Then there is also the issue of the waiting period between getting tested and getting your results. Some places can take up to, or even longer than, a week. The risk here is that people can have the false sense of security in being tested and receiving a negative result. However, you could get tested on Saturday, get a negative result on the following Friday and think you're good, without realizing that on Monday you were infected and now have the ability to infect others.
With that being said, personally I still think it is very smart for everyone to get tested regularly. It is just important to be smart about your testing. If you are told that results could take 3-4 days, self-isolate until you get your results back to avoid any situations in which you could become infected post-testing. While testing, like most things in life, is not 100% effective, it is still a good way to know who is sick and prevent those people from spreading the virus to others.
If you decide to travel for the holidays, get tested before you visit anyone outside of your household. Get tested, self-isolate until you get your results, and then be relatively confident in knowing that you're not bringing the virus with you. Also, when you return from your travels, get tested again. The guidance from the CDC is to get test 5-7 days after "possible exposure." While you may not think you've been exposed while traveling, it is better to be safe than sorry!
Wear a Mask & Social Distance
No matter where you're going and who you will be around, the safest thing you can do is always wear a mask and social distance. COVID-19 is contracted through infected droplets. Test after test and research after research has shown that the best way to prevent yourself from inhaling such infected droplets AND to prevent your infected droplets from getting to others is to WEAR A MASK!!! Yes, I wrote that in all caps because I am yelling it! Wearing a mask is a proven means to stop the spread! If you are wearing a mask and the person you are with is wearing a mask, the risk of spreading COVID-19 is drastically reduced. Add social distancing of 6 feet or more to the equation and the risk is even less. If you are going to be indoors and around people that you haven't been around/don't feel comfortable around/aren't sure how serious they've taken the virus, keep your mask on indoors. It may seem silly to wear a mask inside someone's home, but if we want 2021 to be back to some semblance of normal then we have to do what we have to do. And if you find yourself spending the holidays with people who have turned mask wearing into a political topic or are anti-maskers, ignore them and stay strong in your knowledge of science. Their ignorance is not your concern, your health and safety is! And obvs keep 6+ feet from them :)
Assess the Risk by Location
If you are traveling out-of-state or to another county within your state, you should also assess the risk of where you're going. Many places have travel restrictions in place, from mandatory quarantine, to limits on the number of people in a gathering, to testing requirements and mask mandates. Do a little research before you even start to plan your travel. If, for example, you want to visit family in New York but you live in Ohio, there is a 14 quarantine requirement once you arrive in New York. Or alternatively, you need to be tested within three days of arrival in New York, quarantine for four days and then get tested on the fourth day. If both tests are negative, you are exempt from the full 14 days. This is something you need to know before you arrive because odds are your visit is going to be less than 14 days.
There is a great resource available now in which you can look up every county in the country and see the "Event Risk Assessment" for that county. What this measures is the estimated chance (0-100%) that at least one COVID-19 positive individual will be present at an event in a county, given the size of the event. You can specify the number of people at the event and then click on the county you plan on visiting to see what your risk is. Click here to see this awesome tool from Georgia Tech.
More Resources
If you want to read more on safety for traveling, risks, social distancing, mask wearing, etc., click on any of the links below.
Most importantly, stay safe!!!
