Deciding whether or not to travel is a big decision. Considering there’s a pandemic, our decisions can affect more than just our own lives. This article is not to give you medical advice on whether or not to travel. You can go on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and they will tell you to avoid ALL non-essential travel. You don’t need me to tell you that. But if you are still considering traveling and want to determine the risks yourself, this can give you some guidance on where to start. This article is going to cover:
Travel restrictions- where can you travel right now?
How to find Travel insurances cover COVID-19
What are airlines doing to protect passengers
Are other countries taking any safety measures
Are the safety measures effective– Things to Consider
Travel Restrictions- Where can you travel during the coronavirus pandemic?
Many countries have different regulations and restrictions. Some places require pre-testing with a nasal swab, a 14-day quarantine on arrival, or restrictions from countries of high risk. Some countries may not let you in at all depending on where you are coming from! A great interactive map that will give you the gist of the restrictions around the world can be found on the International Air Transport Association website.
You can also search this website to get more personalized information depending on your nationality, previously visited countries, where you are traveling from, and intended destination. I would start with this website first to see general travel restrictions and then check CDC if you want to know the reported risk of the country’s cases.
For US citizens, you can check the travel advisory risk for a specific destination. Keep in mind, some travel insurances will not cover you if the travel advisory is high like a level 4.
Where can you get tested?
I don’t know how every country is testing. For those in the U.S., you can use this link to find your state and local testing sites. Key thing to be aware of is determining how long these tests will result and in what timeframe you need the result prior to your departure. For example, Hawaii has just lifted their 14-day quarantine on arrival IF you have a negative test done within 72 hours of your departure. Depending on which island you plan to visit, they may require a post-arrival test. The best thing to do is check the state or country you plan to visit for their most updated requirements if you already have a destination in mind.
Quarantine upon return to the U.S.
Currently, quarantining is not required upon returning to the U.S. from international travel. But you need to check your state’s official requirements since this tends to change depending on cases rising. Regardless of the requirements, you should still be considerate with what risks you carry. There is a possibility of being an asymptomatic carrier and spreading it to others. Even if those you come in contact with may seem healthy, you may want to consider their contact risks as well. Potentially getting them sick may risk the spread to their family member who is vulnerable.
Is there a way to get to countries that are only restricting travel from certain high-risk countries?
For some, yes. Some countries including those in Europe may restrict you from entering directly from the U.S. or other high risk countries. However, if you “quarantine” in another country that is not on their restriction list for 2 weeks, they might allow you. You definitely need to check directly with the country you are intending to visit.
Travel insurance that covers COVID-19
Travel insurance takes care of monetary losses due to unexpected events; such as trip cancellations or interruptions, illness, emergency evacuations, and damage or loss of your gear. When choosing a travel insurance, it’s important to determine what is covered during the pandemic. Some insurances will not cover you if you travel to a destination with a level 4 travel advisory.
It’s important to see what is covered and that your insurance covers these issues during the pandemic. World nomads has been my go-to but you definitely need to read through the FAQs to make sure that YOUR needs are covered. They do have coverage during the pandemic and it is what I used when I went to Turkey in October. There are also several websites where you can compare different insurances like Squaremouth.com. There you can customize what you want covered and compare policies. Keep in mind, that some things may not be covered by your travel insurance, but the airline itself might cover cancellations or flight changes during the pandemic.
Flying Safety Measures
So what are airports and airlines doing to protect passengers?
Airports:
First of all, many people are avoiding travel, so many of the airports aren’t very busy as of now. This may start changing soon. The lines for anything (ie. check-in, security, etc) will encourage 6-feet of separation. You may find more hand sanitizer offered throughout the airport. You will be required to wear a mask through the duration of your time at the airport except when eating or drinking. They also have more people cleaning the high-contact areas frequently such as handrails.
Airlines:
Each airline may vary in their procedures. Many airlines will ask you to fill out a questionnaire regarding your contacts, current health, and risk of COVID-19. They may check your temperature prior to boarding. A plexiglass may be in place at check-in. Many are attempting contactless boarding where you just scan your own ticket. Many airlines will clean high-contact areas of the plane before every flight and do a heavy cleaning weekly. Some airlines will use Ultraviolet technology to clean the flight as well.
You may have heard that airlines used to try not to fill the planes to allow for some social distancing, but they’re trying to fill them back to capacity. My flight to Qatar and Turkey from Los Angeles was fairly full. My flight back was pretty empty and I even had an entire row of 3 seats to myself.
The carry-on luggage allowance might have changed, so check with your airline! If you are like me and like to travel light with just two carry-ons, many airlines have reduced allowance. You may carry one personal item and must check in any additional items.
On the flight
Many flights, but not all, will have HEPA filters which help filter out infectious particles to purify the air. How effective is this on the coronavirus? The Coronavirus is at the lower range of the particle size that HEPA filters can capture. It’s not 100% but is supposed to be fairly effective as long as the filtration is kept on. Keep in mind however, that there is some evidence that Coronavirus may stay in the air for hours but it is unknown how much of this contributes to illness as it is mainly spread through respiratory droplets. HEPA filters may help reduce risk but should only be secondary to other means of protection such as masks, hand hygiene, and eye protection.
You will be required to wear a mask through the duration of the flight except when eating or drinking and some airlines may offer and require a face shield as well, such as Qatar airways. On the plane, they may give you complementary PPE. On Qatar airways everyone was given a bag with something to wipe down your area, hand sanitizer, another mask, and gloves. The flight attendants are often in full PPE (gown, gloves, goggles, mask).
Country Safety Measures
Obviously, each country is setting their own regulations. In general, there is less tourism in many places. You will have to look up the place you are considering going to for updates. After having been to Mexico and Turkey and living in California, these places seem to make very similar attempts at enforcing CDC’s recommendations. Temperature checks at entrances to buildings and restaurants, mask requirements except when eating, providing more access to hand sanitizers (entrances, elevators, public areas), limiting capacity, and reinforcing curfews. Curfew and business reopening seem to fluctuate with the reported cases.
Things to Consider– is it safe?
Is it safe to travel during this pandemic? In general, coming in contact with other people whether it be in crowded places, restaurants, or in public, you will increase your risk of contracting and spreading disease. Your individual health risk isn’t the only thing to consider but spreading it to those who are at greatest risk as well. If you are coming home to a multigenerational home and you have high-risk family members, you may want to consider quarantining in a hotel or elsewhere upon return even if it’s not required.
If you have gotten COVID-19 and recovered, there have been suspected reports of reinfection. Although your immune system may recover once again, there is the possibility that you can spread it unknowingly if you have a milder disease course. There is still a lot of unknown and research being conducted in this area.
How effective are these safety measures in place?
The safety measures that are put in place to attempt to reduce the risk of spread is not 100%, obviously. The REAL thing to keep in mind here is how compliant people actually are. How honest are people taking the surveys assessing their infection risk for COVID-19? Do you think they will be honest if they fear they may lose their spot on the flight? Even though masks have shown to be effective with reducing spread when worn correctly, think about how many people you see wearing their mask incorrectly. Often times it is on their chin or with their nose sticking out. On top of that, they often adjust their mask that maybe soiled with their respiratory droplets. Without sanitizing their hands, they may touching something else. These temperature checks done at the entrance of buildings are often done on the wrist which is highly inaccurate.
Wearing a mask on your chin is ineffective and adjusting your mask without sanitizing your hands could spread disease.
Trying to monitor passengers to ensure everyone is wearing a mask and face shield for the full duration of a 16-hour flight is nearly impossible. So many times, I had watched the flight attendant remind multiple passengers to wear their mask only for them to take it back off. Although many places will have curfews in place, you will still find party-goers working around these rules by opening underground clubs, house, or jungle parties.
Can it be safe?
Despite the variables of people complying to the regulations set in place, you can find many places less crowded. Restaurants with very slow business and tables spread out. Pre-COVID popular beaches now empty. Less traffic on popular hikes, cheaper hotels, and less tourists at popular tourist attractions. If you’re planning for a getaway to just lay on some tropical beach all day and maybe do some diving or nature hikes, I have found the beaches to be far less crowded in Tulum than in California. Although, the growing number of tourists might change things soon as U.S citizens might be flocking to the few countries open to us.
I have found the safety risk to be similar in my two recent destinations (Mexico and Turkey) to that in my own town in California. Some people are compliant with adhering to safety measures while others look for ways to get around it and host large gatherings. You can avoid large gatherings, avoid congregate living areas (large dorms in hostels), and enjoy sightseeing and nature with less traffic. Businesses are doing their best to make things as safe as they can.
For me, traveling is not the same as I usually stay in hostels, meet new people, and enjoy the night life. But I can adapt and these past two trips have been very memorable taking in the culture, nature, and private tours.
Museum hotel is very popular in Turkey but it felt very safe as there was less tourists and they seemed very clean.
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