Travel and transportation in general may have been frozen or dramatically reduced during the first period of the unprecedented pandemic, but it is impossible for human activities, trade and, in general, any movement between citizens, worldwide, to be stopped for long.
Travel Guides from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Staying at home is probably the best way to protect ourselves and those around us from COVID-19 infection, but this may not be the case in all cases and may not be a long-term tactic.
But as travel increases the likelihood of transmitting SARS-CoV-2, here are the latest travel guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
What the CDC has emphasized from the outset is the increased risk of transmitting COVID-19 during each trip.
You may feel well and have no symptoms, but this does not rule out the possibility of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to other people, including family, friends, fellow travelers and the local destination community, for 14 days after exposure to the virus.
Anyone who is ill or has had contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case in the last 14 days should not travel.
Topics to consider before the trip
- What is the epidemiological course of COVID-19 infection at the destination?
- Are there risk factors such as old age or comorbidities that predispose to an increased risk of serious COVID-19 infection?
- Are there people in the family and other family environment with an increased risk of serious COVID-19 disease?
- Are there specific obligations such as the use of a mask and / or restrictions for travelers to the destination?
During the journey
Proper use of face mask is essential in all public places
Close contact with people outside the home at a distance of less than 2 meters (physical removal) should be avoided.
Hands should be washed frequently or alcoholic solutions with at least 60% alcohol content should be used.
Contact with patients should be avoided.
Contact with eyes, nose and mouth should be avoided.
Protection measures should be taken constantly as there are cases where it is not possible to comply with social exclusion measures, such as on the train, on the ship, on the bus and on the plane. The way the air is recycled on the plane does not favor the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, however the risk increases with the long stay.
Particular attention should be paid to the use of personal hygiene measures when stopping and using shared bathrooms, refueling and food consumption.
After the trip
Even in asymptomatic travelers, the possibility of carrying SARS-CoV-2 and transmitting COVID-19 infection for 14 days after exposure to the virus cannot be ruled out.
It is especially important to observe the measures of personal hygiene and physical removal, especially for the first 14 days after the return.
Individual monitoring of symptoms for possible COVID-19 infection is also important.
The specific instructions issued by the competent authorities by region must be followed.