Fodors Travel Guides - Fodors Guide to Safe and Healthy Travel

by Michael W. Smith, MD, MBA, CPT,
WebMD Chief Medical Director

In late December 2019, the world learned of an outbreak of a mysterious viral pneumonia in Wuhan, China. It quickly spread to the rest of the world with the first U.S. confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in Washington state on January 21. Our lives drastically changed.

Initial reports suggested the outbreak started in a wet market in Wuhan, when the virus transmitted from an animal to a human followed by human-to-human transmission. Doubt has been shed on that theory. Whatever the origin, with todays global community and easy access to the far corners of the world, the virus quickly spread. On March 11, the World Health Organization officially deemed the outbreak a pandemica worldwide outbreak.

Coronaviruses are common, even causing the common cold. They have also been the root of several other serious outbreaks, including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). But this one was different. Its highly contagious, easily spread from person to person. Experts estimate that, on average, an infected person would infect nearly six other people, so you can see how it spread so quickly. One reason is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as its known, is a respiratory virus, infecting the nose, airways, and lungs. That means it has several ways to get inside the body, including our nose, mouth, and even eyes.

Theres another reason this virus is especially hard to stop. An estimated 80% of infected people have few to no symptoms. Some may feel totally fine. Others may feel like they have a cold. But they can still give the virus to otherspotentially to someone else who develops more serious symptoms, leading to hospitalization or possibly death.

Because we know how the virus spreads, we also know how to prevent the spread. Research shows face masks can be highly effective when used correctly. Any time youre going to be around people outside the home, particularly when you stand the chance of being less than 6 feet away from someone else, wear a cloth mask to cover your nose and mouth. While theres still a shortage of medical masks, leave those for the health professionals. Wash your hands before you put a mask on, after you remove it, and often in between. When you cant get to soap and water, use hand sanitizer.

Also, dont touch your face, particularly your nose, mouth, or eyes. Coronavirus spreads primarily through the respiratory droplets that people give off when they talk, cough, sneeze, or even breathe. If you touch a surface that has those droplets and then touch your face, theres a chance you could infect yourself. Thats another reason why its important to wash your hands often.

Outside of the things you can do to protect yourself and people around you, there are other efforts that will help the world get the pandemic under control. One is testing. Its the only way to know for sure that someone has the virus.

There are two types of testsa diagnostic test and an antibody test. A diagnostic test uses a nasal swab or saliva to see if youre infected with SARS-CoV-2 right now. Antibody tests check your blood for signs youve been infected before. Antibodies likely mean you have some level of protection from getting the virus again, but we dont yet know how much they protect you or for how long.

Contact tracing is another tool that will serve to protect us. It involves finding people whove been in contact with an infected person and telling them to isolate themselves. No treatment or medication has yet been proven to work against SARS-CoV-2, but several treatments are showing promise in clinical trials. More research is needed before doctors can recommend any specific treatment.

Ultimately, we need a safe and effective vaccine to get the COVID-19 outbreak under complete control. Many trials are underway investigating different vaccine approaches. Some may come to fruition as early as late 2020, which would be remarkably fast in the world of vaccine development. Once its available, I would highly recommend you get the vaccine, especially before any international travel.

The COVID-19 outbreak will eventually go away. The virus may still linger as many respiratory viruses do, but ultimately the world can control it with a vaccine and treatment. But other respiratory viruses will emerge. Hopefully itll be many years before we must endure another outbreak such as this. But the information in this e-book is criticalit can help you avoid other respiratory infections, including the flu. Taking these steps to protect ourselves and our families will help stem future outbreaks that may come.

Travel and tourism are also important for the worlds economy: one in every 10 jobs around the world is related to travel and the industry generates 10.3% of global GDP. Travel has been severely affected by COVID-19, it played a role in spreading the disease, and it will be a part of the economic recovery. We miss being able to travel freelywhether its a weekend road trip or a dream vacation to an island paradiseand look forward to travel returning to normal. Protecting the health of everyone involved in travel is important, and, at least for a while, travel is going to be very different.

At Fodors, weve always relayed health information to our readers. Our digital site, w fodors.com, regularly explores health in the travel context, and weve published numerous COVID-19 stories to keep you informed and help your travel dreaming and planning. In our guidebooks, we always include a comprehensive Travel Smart chapter to provide practical advice and tips on both personal safety and health-related safety. Weve covered everything from the Zika virus in places like the Caribbean to the norovirus (which, while often associated with cruises, is found in many places, though few have the same reporting requirements as cruise ships). As an extension of the coverage weve always provided, weve created this special e-book with our colleagues at WebMD on how to travel safely in this age of pandemics.

COVID-19 brought travel almost to a standstill in the spring of 2020 but by June travel was very slowly starting again. Its mostly domestic travel for now and, even as lockdown and self-isolation restrictions are lifted, many are concerned that its still too early. Second waves of infection are appearing and some countries are reinstating restrictions. The situation changes almost daily. We need to take precautions to protect ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world. Travel wont be safe from COVID-19 until a vaccine is developed and readily available to everyone on the planet. Going forward, we now have a better understanding of the seriousness of pandemics and how to be prepared for the next one.

When deciding when and where to travel, there are several factors to consider. First, governments provide advice and warnings. The CDC is still advising against nonessential travel within the United States and released guidance for reopening of states on May 14. For international travel, the CDC has a Level 3 Travel Health Notice recommending against nonessential travel to all global destinations, and the State Department has a Global Level 4 Health Advisory to avoid all international travel. Travelers who have been in certain parts of the world are also subject to additional measures upon arriving in the United States. Every national government decides who is allowed within its borders and can set conditions for entry like testing and mandatory quarantine.