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During the existing pandemic outbreak, what is the threat of travel in what is usually one of the most active seasons?Here’s what you want to know.
By Elaine Glusac
Are you traveling or not traveling? This is the one on vacation.
As Thanksgiving and December holidays approach, as the number of coronavirus cases across the country increases, the biggest dangers posed by travel, whether contracting or spreading the virus, challenge the industry, which is often one of its busy seasons.
Market research company Destination Analysts discovered in a recent examination of the Coronavirus Travel Sentiment Index, a weekly survey of 1,200 Americans, which only 28% expected for the holidays, adding Thanksgiving and Christmas. for last year’s vacation.
Few things are safe nowadays, unless you want to wear a mask and maintain a social distance as much as possible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “strongly recommends” that the mask be used on all means of public transport, adding metro, buses, taxis, carpools and airplanes.
Here are five things we know about vacation travel.
Last Thanksgiving, Airlines for America, the industry industry organization, expected 31. 6 million travelers during the 12-day vacation. This year, the organization refused to provide an estimate.
Aviation activity remains depressed, and Thanksgiving flight searches fell by 60% year after year, according to the Kayak plan development site. Hopper, the airline’s booking app, said the average price of a domestic round-trip ticket for Thanksgiving was $173, 41 percent less than last year. FlightAware, which tracks air traffic, said advertising aviation remained in about part of the 2019 volume. Flying aircraft are full at only 61% of their capacity on average.
However, marking a seat without a neighbor sharing the armrest is becoming more complicated and travelers deserve to prepare for more congested aircraft. Southwest Airlines, which kept the middle seats open during the pandemic, recently announced that it would cause all seats to be for flights from December 1.
“To date, the call has been so weak that the blockade of the middle seat has not harmed us,” Gary Kelly, the airline’s executive leader, said in October. He added that as the holiday season approaches, “the price of promoting middle positions is significant and will provide us with more key revenue. “
Of the 4 largest airlines in the United States, adding American, Southwest and United, only Delta Air Lines is committed to leaving its mid-seats open during the holidays until January 6.
In a third-quarter results call, Delta CEO Edward H. Bastian said the airline expects its December operations to account for about a third of what they had in December 2019.
Many medical experts characterize airlines by using HEPA filters to remove air from germs on aircraft. A recent Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health has discovered little evidence of in-flight transmission since mask orders were implemented in the spring and the threat of transmission of the disease on planes below that of groceries or meals in places of eating was assessed.
But the dangers of flying are alone at cruising altitude.
“You have to go through all the stages of the trip, get to the airport, the security lines, the stopovers,” said Dr. Henry Wu, director of emory TravelWell Center and associate professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine. “All those items are added to the list of possible exposures. “
In addition to dressing in a surveillance mask, she advises dressing with hand sanitist, opting for a window seat to prevent others from walking down the aisles, dressing up in a face shield and avoiding eating or drinking, requiring you to decrease your mask if possible.
Outside the plane, he added, “I need other people to internalize what is 1. 80 meters, whether they walk to the doors or climb elevators or escalators. “
Increasingly, airlines are promoting Covid-19 as a way to assure travelers that flying is safe.
As a component of a pilot program from November 6 to December 11, United Airlines will offer quick and loose testing to passengers on flights from Newark to London, making sure that everyone on board (except young people under 2 years old) tested negative before the take. Off.
In October, United began providing the Covid-19 check at San Francisco International Airport to travelers to Hawaii, requiring negative check effects to quarantine for 14 days. American Airlines also provides checks to travelers to Hawaii, either at the user or through a house kit.
The International Air Transport Association and Airlines for America are requesting pre-flight Covid-19 testing as an option for quarantine restrictions.
For destinations that require verification, such as Hawaii and Jamaica, the type of verification would possibly vary with the age of grace to download before arrival, requiring travelers to carefully search for verification requirements.
“When we can have a foreign agreement on the most productive strategy to verify and when to verify and what verification to use, this will facilitate the total procedure for travelers, airlines and destinations,” Lin H said. Chen, president of the Internacional. de Travel Medicine Society and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. “Right now, we don’t have that standard. “
While a portion of respondents with vacation plans told destination analysts that they would not be tested before their vacation trip, a third said yes.
“If it’s negative, it’s good news, but that doesn’t mean you have to take precautions,” Dr. Wu said. “The effects may be simply incorrect or you may be incubating an infection. ignited the holiday itself. “
Testing is one way families and friends can fuse their bubbles for the holidays, but their use, like everything related to travel in those days, requires planning, as well as making sure that members of the merging bubbles follow the same precautions before the trip.
“You want to lessen your threat and then take the test, ” said dr. Emily Landon, associate professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of Chicago, who advises families to quarantine up to 14 days before the test. are the maximum sensitive between five and eight days after exposure. And they’re not perfect. The faster they are, in general, the fewer maximums they will probably be to be accurate. “
Molecular tests, also known as PCR tests, are considered the most accurate and require at least one or two days to download the results, compared to antigen tests, which are fast but less accurate.
Meeting in an unbiased place, such as renting a vacation home, will minimize the chances of meeting with other strangers while retaining your own bubble or the one you just expanded. and New Year’s Day is 70% higher nationally than last year.
Bringing your own food to your stay is another way to minimize contact with strangers. Where possible, experts propose to dine outdoors or even divide an outdoor patio into spaces assigned to each circle of family bubbles. Meetings should be small, socially distant, short and outdoors or ventilated.
When it comes to accommodation, hotels are considered a safer option than staying with a friend or family member. In addition to progressive cleaning, the hotels are relatively deserted. Across the country, the average rate of hotel occupancy is about half, with rates. less than $100 a night, according to hotel analysts STR, Inc.
From strict state policies in New York and Connecticut to local restrictions in Chicago, many destinations require returning citizens to be quarantined. recommends that states, territories, tribes and localities be checked for existing restrictions.
Many quarantine commands are based on self-control. But breaking a quarantine order in New York can charge up to $10,000 in fines or up to 15 days in jail. As of November 4, the maximum number of out-of-state travelers can meet New York’s 14-day quarantine requirement with negative effects for Covid-19 of a check performed within 3 days of arrival, quarantine for 3 days after arrival, and negative check-in. Effects of some other control performed on the fourth day.
“You have to think about the total journey,” said Jeremy Prout, director of security responses for the Americas at International SOS, a protection and fitness company. “This includes the return trip, which can last between 40 and two weeks. “
Be prepared for the threat of infection while traveling, which can result in quarantine at your destination. Prout pleaded with travelers to prepare for a two-week trip, even if a brief stopover was planned.
Potential quarantines at a destination are one explanation why make sure that, if you have flown, your airfare has a flexible cancellation policy or waives the replacement payment. Southwest does not qualify a payment for converting your price ticket and Delta waives the replacement payment on the highest priced tickets purchased this year.
Avoid basic economy tickets on United and American, which allow for changes.
In a survey of 16,000 Americans this summer, consulting organization Deloitte Digital found that road trips and short-distance regional travel were to the liking of 65% of respondents, a figure that he said could be preparing for the vacation.
“The merit of driving is that the environment is much more controlled,” said Emory’s Dr. Wu. “Ideally, you drive with your immediate circle of relatives you live with. Taking other people from other households increases the threat that someone will catch fire and you will be exposed. And it is a small and confined environment. “
This fall, the American Automobile Association reported that visits to its TripTik address map service had doubled since the spring. Like Google Maps and other virtual services, the loose online page allows users to enter their destination and get route options. users can view hotels, restaurants, gas stations and campsites on the map to help them plan their stops.
The AAA service, available online or through its member and non-member app, also provides links to a useful map of the United States, showing state, county, and city restrictions on things like dressing in masks, collection sizes, recovery limits, and quarantine requirements.
The C. D. C. recommends that motorists pump gasoline with a sanitary wipe, disinfect their hands afterwards, and bring their own food to indoor areas.
“Management control planning is one thing,” said Prout of International SOS. “You want to plan your rest areas, your vehicle in good condition and restrict driving time at night. “
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