COVID-19 Air versus ground travel While the safety precautions for air travel may be onerous, they aren’t that complicated. Try to book a flight with adjacent seats that are empty, bring your own food and beverages and carry a “COVID-19 safety kit” − a supply of masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to keep your immediate surroundings as free as possible of bacteria and viruses. Ground travel is another matter entirely. While you have more control of your immediate surroundings while driving, you will need to leave the relative safety of your vehicle many times over the course of a two- to threeday drive to refuel, eat and use the washroom. If you’re starting to think, “It’s either fly or buy an RV and a hazmat suit!”, don’t be discouraged. There are ways to lower your chances of catching COVID-19 and still drive to your winter destination. CSA News has covered the topic of staying safe in public washrooms elsewhere; in this article, we’ll focus on precautions related to eating during a road trip. Risks of (eating on) the road Generally, the most convenient (if not the healthiest or cheapest) options for eating while driving are to stop at roadside restaurants or to grab something at a drive-through. Both of these carry similar risks. Restaurant risks Health authorities tell us that you are most likely to become infected with COVID-19 from being close to another person (transmission can occur through respiratory droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing or speaking, or from being in close contact by shaking hands or otherwise touching the other person). Another route of transmission occurs when you touch a surface contaminated with the virus and later touch your mouth, nose or eyes with hands that are now carrying particles of the virus. Restaurants offer plenty of opportunity for both kinds of COVID-19 transmission. Diners will come close to the host and the server and may be fewer than the recommended six feet (two metres) distance from other customers (especially during busy periods). As high-traffic locations, restaurants have many “high-touch” surfaces that may have been touched by an infected person. These may include door handles, chairs, tables and tableware (such as salt-and-pepper shakers or jars for condiments, including ketchup or mustard) and possibly others. Transmission can be minimized by social distancing (tables at least six feet or two metres apart), good hygiene (staff and customers frequently washing hands), proper cleaning and disinfection practices (such as regularly disinfecting frequently touched surfaces) and both customers and staff wearing masks unless they are eating or drinking. The real question, of course, is whether you can be sure that the restaurant you stop at is following all of the recommended measures for reducing the spread of COVID-19. While some measures are obvious (distance between tables, customers and staff wearing masks), others (such as frequent handwashing, cleaning and disinfecting) are not. Risks of drive-through and takeout food Drive-through and takeout food are likely less risky than restaurant dining simply because you spend less time in the company of people who are not members of your household. There is still some risk of transmission, however. If someone with COVID-19 prepared your food, there’s a chance that virus particles are on the packaging, and there are a few potentially contaminated “high-touch” surfaces that you may touch while getting your food (such as PIN pads). Roadside restaurants, eat your heart out! Heading to your winter home? A “drive-by” approach to eating may be the safest way to feed yourself Before 2020, there was an even chance whether typical U.S.-bound snowbirds would choose to fly or drive to their winter homes. As of this past March, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible to predict what the medical, travel and political situations will be like this fall. Today, the U.S.-Canada border is closed to ground travel, but it’s possible to fly to the U.S. In October or November, the situation might be reversed. However, if the border is open, one question will be top of mind for all travellers: “How can I reduce my chances of catching COVID-19 while I’m travelling?” by Alexis Campbell 38 | www.snowbirds.org
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