Traveling - Staying Safe and Protected - Covid is Still Around

Let's face it. Life with Covid-19 will never be the same. Our only hope of restoring some sense of normalcy, particularly in air travel, is strongly dependent on discovering a vaccine.

The travel industry is rapidly adjusting to the coronavirus pandemic as they watch more than 90 percent of their passengers and revenue dwindle to nearly none.

Improved airport and plane sterilization techniques, which will possibly include UVC light sterilizer, will help sanitize the winged Petri dishes known as airplanes. But, there are crucial things that you can do to keep you and your family safe while flying.

First, be very strategic when selecting and purchasing your flight. Select flights with traditionally low seat occupancy and few or no layovers. This strategic flight selection will help you avoid crowded airports and minimize the number of people (known as symptomatic or asymptomatic vectors) that you are exposed.

Wear eye protection, mask, and gloves - each of these has even proven to reduce the chance of coronavirus transmission.

Do not touch your face! Limit the use of straws, packages, and utensils during a flight for snacks and beverages. Better yet, BYOB, bring your own food, snacks, and drinks since you, and only you touched the containers for your home-prepared snacks.

Avoid conversations during the flight, even if you're wearing a mask.

Once you reach your final destination, wipe down your luggage before you unpack.

Indeed, many of these measures seem extreme. But, in the absence of a novel coronavirus vaccine and lack of effective treatment, travelers are faced with the option of only staying home or using what appears to be extreme measures to protect themselves.

If you're traveling to island destinations, such as Hawaii, remember to get a negative pre-travel Covid-19 test or you could end up spending your 2-week vacation inside your hotel room on mandatory 14-day quarantine, or if you venture outside, in the local jail.

Maybe, just maybe, a STAYcation is not so bad after all.

Mahalo from the island of Maui

Nomad's Lens