Traveling in Covid times? 

By Dr. Srividya S, Consultant – Internal Medicine, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital Yeshwanthpur

December, the time of the year that calls for celebration, it's the vacation season. Many of us make travel plans for the vacations, visiting friends and relatives or just go exploring to a new place. This year with the pandemic, people were initially more cautious about venturing out, this seemed to have changed in the past couple of months by adjusting to the new normal. 
With more people planning travel during the vacation season, the necessary precautions and social distancing are still a must to keep safe. Especially owing to the change in weather conditions it is important to follow the 3 major protocols of COVID 19 – wearing mask, hand wash and social distancing to curb the spread of infection.  

Below are the list of measures which needs to be followed when you plan your travel.   
•    Research about the place you are traveling. Download Arogya Setu app and update the details to find if there is any high probability of Covid prospects around.
•    The focus should be to minimize contact with people as much as possible.
•    Carry your sanitizer when you step out of the house. Washing hands regularly and sanitising it when you are outdoors is necessary. 
•    Avoid crowded place.
•    Try to avoid touching surfaces. As we are all still adjusting to the new way of being, we might naturally tend do some of these things unconsciously, but we need to be extra careful during the pandemic. In case of contact with surfaces be sure to sanitize hand before touching face, nose or eyes
•    Ensure you wear a good quality mask which is also breathable. Do not remove the mask when you are traveling.
•    Carry your water bottle. Do not drink water from outside. If required buy bottled water. Avoid going to any place in large groups
•    If you are travelling by public transport make sure the sanitization process is completed. 
•    Don’t travel if you have the slightest symptoms
•    Ask the hotel staff to sanitize the room on a daily basis
•    Avoid eating roadside food
•    Wash hands before consuming food
•    Try to carry the minimum possible baggage along with you to reduce risk of transfer of microbes onto the items. Keep all of these in one bag. Sanitise before leaving the house and before re-entering the house.

It is noticed that people remove the mask partially to talk and while doing other activities – avoid this habit and if you meet anyone who has shifted the mask away from the nose, please request them to cover both nose and mouth.
Wearing mask, maintaining social distance and hand hygiene are the 3 major protocols to avoid COVID 19. Therefore, ensure you follow these protocols during your travel. If you observe any symptoms, immediately get the COVID-test done. It is highly recommended not to ignore the symptoms.