As the pandemic continues to take its toll around the world, more and more people are encouraged to stay safe and to stay at home. As a matter of fact, only certain necessary individuals can perform what’s been touted as “essential travel,” including medical professionals and grocery store workers.

While traveling becomes a concerning event for both locals and foreigners alike with the rapid spread of the virus, people are taking more precautions to safeguard their health and safety. Most individuals have even canceled their trips and travels.

In the event you need to travel for work, or even for simply purchasing essential items and groceries, it’s important that you stay safe and take necessary measures to maintain your health. Below are some tips to stay safe from getting infected when traveling. Take a look.

• Consider Your Overall Health And Wellbeing

If you are already sick prior to your travel date, chances are you should postpone your trip. This way, you can heal, boost your immune system and prevent others from contracting the virus.

More than checking your health status, it’s also vital that you consider the state of your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), older adults such as senior citizens and those with underlying medical conditions are more at risk of getting illnesses.

If you have these conditions or err on the older side, it’s best that you stay safe and reconsider traveling or postpone your plans to a later date.

Boosting your immune system by eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and drinking your vitamins is also highly advised. Likewise, physical activity also keeps you fit and healthy.

• Look Up Your Destination

With numerous cases of the virus outbreak happening around the globe, it would be best for you to check if the country or destination you’re planning to go to. See if it has been considered a hot zone.

If it is, you might be required to get country-specific vaccines and medication to stay safe avoid being infected.

Consult your physician and get the approval of your doctor as they may know what steps you need to undertake before traveling.

• Wear Protective Gear

Wear gloves and a mask when you are going out. Wearing gloves while traveling allows you to protect yourself from directly coming in contact with viruses. However, it’s recommended that you dispose of these gloves afterward.

Face masks should also be worn when going out in public. This is meant to protect other people in case you have symptoms or are currently feeling under the weather.

At the same time, this prevents the virus from immediately going into your face, particularly your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Mask-wearing may also lessen the risk of you accidentally touching your face and spreading germs. Because of this, it’s worth investing in cloth masks. Just make sure to properly disinfect and wash it after every use.

• Sanitize Everything

If you don’t have the means to wash your hands with soap and water, it’s best that stay safe and arm yourself with at least 70% alcohol, sanitizing wipes, or hand sanitizers. These tools are helpful in wiping down surfaces and removing germs from areas you can potentially come in contact with.

Since viruses have the ability to survive and live off of various surfaces for days, it’s important that you sanitize areas such as plane seats, armrests, poles in a subway, handrails, and even the handles of grocery carts.

It’s understandable that you feel tired and weary after traveling for hours. However, once you have arrived at your travel destination, you should take a shower to wash off the germs and bacteria that you may have come in contact with. Do this prior to sitting down or laying on your bed.

While you’re at it, you should also immediately wash or launder your clothes. Disinfect your shoes and, if possible, leave them outside the door to prevent bringing germs or the virus indoors.

Disinfect surfaces you might have touched such as door handles, knobs, and even light switches. This is one of the most effective ways to stay safe when traveling.

The Bottom Line

Traveling may be unavoidable for many. But with these tips, you can certainly stay safe from getting infected even while you’re on the go. Take a cue from these tips and you can help flatten the curve in no time.