There may be travel restrictions, but travelling hasn’t stopped totally during the coronavirus pandemic. Should you insist on travelling this time, adopt safety measures on every mode of transportation you’ll use.
Carry along your own food, don’t touch public surfaces, and maintain a 2-metre distance from other people.
Some persons are eager to travel, take flight, and some are still hesitating. Well, if you’re all pumped up and ready to fly, we’ll show you what we consider as important to protect yourself and lower your risks.
But why are people scared to fly?
The main reason flying or travelling by train or bus is worrisome is sitting within 2 metres of an infected person. This is because people that are asymptomatic can spread the virus. How exposed you’re equals your risk of getting infected, determined by how long you’re exposed and the amount of infected droplets in the air.
Contact with surfaces contaminated by infected persons is another reason. When items like seat tray, armrest, bathroom handle, and others are virus-infected, the virus can remain active for hours, though it weakens with time. Touching your nose or mouth with hands that have been in contact with these surfaces puts you at risk.
Plan before you book
Air travel cannot be completely safe, but there are safe approaches. Plan each trip carefully. Using what’s known as a hierarchy of controls by occupational health professionals, you can achieve two things:
- Focus on strategies to manage exposure close to the source
- Reduce your level of reliance on human behaviour to manage exposure
Bear in mind that you and others may be infectious. You can have a PCR COVID test for travel.
To control exposure means removing the hazard! Now that COVID-19 is yet to be eliminated, think if you can abort the trip. Consider how old you are or if you’ve got underlying conditions, or if your host is in that position.
Should you and your host be healthy, consider ways to replace the hazard. Will it be possible to drive to your destination? You have more control over exposure, especially if the distance is less than a 24-hour journey.
Still want to fly?
Should you be bent on flying, find out airlines’ regulations onboarding and seating. Some airlines are carrying a lesser number of passengers and maintaining space by not using middle seats. Others are boarding from the back of the plane. Airlines that were still carrying full capacity have declared permission for flight cancellation if passenger seating capacity exceeds 70%.
Since federal and state policies can change at any time, research the most recent restrictions and policies, and also consult your chosen airline for more advice. Reduce long flights by booking multiple shorter flights. This may not go down well, but it sure reduces your degree of exposure to infectious persons and surfaces.
Opt for a window seat if possible after booking your flight. This will keep you away and a bit far from the constant movement of passengers along the aisle. Find out what the airline is doing to protect passengers. Do they have ventilation systems, electrostatic disinfectant sprays, and onboard barriers on aircrafts? This is because when the plane’s ventilation is working, there’s more fresh air than recirculated air in the cabin. Again, there are HEPA filters on most modern plane ventilation systems, which have a 99.9% efficacy in removing particles of 0.3 microns in diameter. They’re more powerful in eliminating smaller and larger particles too.
Shuttle to seat safety
From the time you check-in to the time you go through security and boarding, you’ll come in contact with different surfaces. So, to stay safe:
- Carry disinfectant wipes to clean surfaces like your seatbelt, passport and other items. Where there are no hand wipes, go with a small washcloth soaked in a bleach solution in a zip bag. This will eliminate viruses, but it must be in a mix ratio of 1 tbsp of bleach to 4 cups of water for efficacy.
- Carry plastic bags for your personal items like ID. Extra bags can be packed as well so that after disinfecting your items, you can change the bags.
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water. Use hand sanitiser to cover any part washing may have missed.
- Remain seated onboard
- Use a cloth covering. N95 respirator can be used if available, but it should be tested. Don’t wear gloves, it can be misleading.
Want to fly with kids? Consider that it’s quite difficult to make a child wear a mask and maintain good hygiene at home. Flying may pose more difficulty. Children below 2 years shouldn’t use a mask.
Stay safe with a PCR swab test for travel plus airline and personal protection measures we’ve provided. Do contact us on 020 71830244 to conduct a COVID-19 test is London.
