Are you as prepared for travel during COVID-19 as you should be?

Turns out if people are motivated enough, they are still prepared to travel and brave higher risks of COVID-19 exposure on airplanes, in airports and at other points along the way to their destination.

A recent analysis by NPR found that many Americans ignored Thanksgiving travel warnings from the CDC and took flights, drove or used other means to travel and spend time with family far from home.

The National Public Radio report analyized mobile phone data, which on the one hand showed that 42 percent of Americans with smartphones stayed home for Thanksgiving - an incease of 6 percent from 2019. However, the data also showed that 13 percent of those whose data was reviewed traveled a significant distance for the November holiday. That was down just 4 percent from 2019, when 17 percent of the same group traveled significantly for Thanksgiving.

Bottom line: air passengers still averaged about 1 million per day during the travel days leading up to Thanksgiving.

"This level of travel will unfortunately lead to a rise in cases," said the University of Washington's Ali Mokdad, chief strategy officer for Population Health, according to the NPR report.

Are you prepared to fly as safely and efficiently as possible if work or other responsibilities create necessary long-distance travel?

Deutsche Welle photo -

Worldwide Rescue & Security, Inc., a division of AGIA Affinity Services, is a provider of emergency travel protection and rescue and security products. The company suggests several possible items to enhance travel safety and security:

• The PacSafe Portable Travel Safe - a personal backpack to keep valuables, money, and passports protected while on the go. The sack comes with a steel locking cable to attach to any immovable object as a portable safe. The fabric is also slash-proof.
• The PhoneSoap Phone Sanitizer - this harnesses UV light to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria on your smart phone and other tech devices. Small enough to fit in a carry-on.
• The Nomad Slim Wallet - this comes with a Tile device for easy tracking if lost or stolen.
• The Face Mask on Chain - It's a face mask. On a chain.
• The Skyroam Personal Hotspot - this provides wifi in over 132 countries, allowing easy connection in just about any location.

The Mayo Clinic has a set of comprehensive recommendations and guidelines for traveling safely while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge across America. Common sense measures are the overriding theme: Maintain a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) between you and other travelers at all times; avoid contact with anyone who is sick; limit contact with frequently touched surfaces, such as handrails, elevator buttons and kiosks; wear a cloth face mask; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

One critical rule of thumb: if you aren't well don't travel.

FCM Travel Solutions also recommends carrying antibacterial wipes to clean your airplane seat armrest, tray table, seat-back pocket, air vent, seat touch screen, headrest and window blind.

"The same advice is sensible for other items frequently used by travelers, including hotel television remote controls and clean your hands after travelling on shuttles, taxis, holding handrails and using elevators," according to FCM's travel guidelines.

Pro moves: Use nasal spray to keep air passages clear and counterract low humidity in airplane cabins. Dry membranes make it harder to block out viruses. And if your travel membership or other credentials allow for an upgrade - now's the time. Even a small buffer of more personal space can make a difference in lowering your risk.

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