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With restrictions to be lifted and travel between countries allowed in a phased manner, those who travel frequently on business or leisure are creating strategies and procedures to stay safe in airports, airplanes, hotels and the like. Here are some tips.
“We never thought about everything we played from the moment we left home,” Peter Greenberg, travel editor for the CBS television program This Mornin, and host of the “Travel Detective” series on the PBS channel, tells USA Today.
Having traveled hundreds of thousands of kilometers on the job, he does not intend to make absurd efforts to avoid the virus. “I refuse to become a protective suit”, he contests, adding that he has several ideas that should help to minimize the risk. In addition to the essential mask, he plans to wear gloves when traveling. On airplanes it takes its bottled water to reduce contact with flight attendants. In hotel rooms the bed cover is removed and the glasses are rinsed with hot water for more than two minutes. All common sense precautions, he notes.
In addition to experts like Peter Greenberg, regular travelers (from those constantly on the road to now retired people looking forward to leisure travel) also give their tips for leaving home in Covid-19 times.
1. Evaluate before you go
Gene Rivers, who sells real estate in Tallahassee, Florida, says that before he travels, he looks at the airlines, hotels and ground transportation he will have to use to see what precautions are being taken and thus find safer alternatives. “The risk increases when flight attendants, hotel check-in employees or restaurant employees are not wearing masks, behind acrylic dividers or cleaning surfaces as soon as each customer leaves”, he enumerates, referring that “I like to planes that respect distance rules and minimize contact ”.
2. Equating a UV wand
Susan Smith, retired, from Naples, Florida, says that among the precautions she takes is a UV wand, an ultraviolet light device that can be passed over surfaces to eliminate bacteria (UV light is being tested on a large scale as a way to sanitize the New York metro). He also takes slippers, but he already considers taking sheets too much: “that's what the UV wand is for”.
3. Take the cushion and avoid connecting flights
Paula McCombie, from South Barrington, Illinois, says she takes her pillow to any hotel. And this is just the beginning: you always have hand sanitizer in a small spray dispenser, as well as disinfectant wipes. "I clean the areas I'm going to touch as soon as I sit on the plane." And, “when I arrive, I wash my hands as soon as I have the opportunity”. It also intends to avoid connecting flights so as not to have to go through more than one airport - it is always one less place where you can come into contact with the virus.
4. Bring snacks ...
Michael Altneu, from Gilbert, Arizona, a supply chain manager, will soon travel to China. And it will take a supply of healthy snacks for two weeks: "I must wait a quarantine of 14 days as soon as China allows the entry of US citizens, besides that I will stay in a hotel that was not chosen by me".
… and meals
Scott Smith, regional manager, doesn't stick to snacks. He always takes his breakfasts and lunches with him (except for a week in March when he was on the road during the whole pandemic). What most irritates him, as a traveler in the USA, is "no state, city or town having the same restrictions".
5. Use disinfectant wipes
Cindy Wilkerson, who works in the insurance industry in Sacramento, Calif., Uses disinfectant wipes in hotels and, in addition, places trust in the cleaning teams. “I will trust that the hotel is doing its job. I think the risk of contracting Covid-19 in a hotel room is reduced ”.