Travel & Disinfection

Balance is the key!

From locked within four walls to desperately moving out and crowding tourist hotspots, we have kind of ignored the Covid-19 norms. Seeing the type of crowds on hill stations and beaches these days, it seems like coronavirus never existed!

While it is important and required to move out now and resume all our activities, accepting this as the new normal, it is also essential to be cautious and follow the appropriate guidelines. We as individuals need to maintain a balance between the two.

The respective state governments are issuing and taking care of the restrictions, which chiefly include:

• Ensuring people traveling from other states are either fully vaccinated or carry a negative RT-PCR report
• Sanitizing and disinfecting the cities and other public places

What can we as individuals ensure while traveling to distant or nearby places?

We know that there is a lot pent up owing to the COVID-19 imposed restrictions, and we are looking to unwind with the ease of lockdown. It is advisable to:

1. take care of one’s safety
2. respect other people’s concern for their safety
3. disinfect state and private run eateries, homestays, hotels, etc
4. adopt disinfection and sanitizing as part and parcel to avoid the spread of infection

With these in mind, I as a traveler, would:

• Always wear a mask when outdoors and also carry 2-3 disposable masks along.
• Try to avoid crowded places.
• Always carry a pocket disinfectant/sanitizer along and use it frequently, especially at places where hand wash is not an option. Try and carry chemical and alcohol-free sanitizers that would eliminate any risk of taking the same to different venues in different modes of transport.
• Cover my mouth while sneezing or coughing.
• Advise the above steps to people who are traveling along.
• Check with the hotels and restaurants I’d visit if the place and other relevant surfaces have been disinfected appropriately. Ask them assertively so that they become cautious of following this as a practice.
• Check the latest news about the place I am traveling to.
• Get my due vaccination(s) as early as possible; until then, always get tested for Covid before traveling. (Please note – even if you are fully vaccinated, you must follow the above guidelines).
• If I observe any symptoms or feel sick, I will drop my travel plan and reschedule.

I know I am reiterating, but it is crucial always to carry a handy bottle of sanitizer and use it regularly. Some points where your hand must go inside your pocket or purse to fetch the sanitizer are – before and after eating, after sneezing, after traveling through public transports, after visiting a crowded public place or a place with high touch-points like temples, churches, museums, etc. Once back in your room, you may wash your hands and face with soap and water.

We need not be scared or overwhelmed with the situation; we just need to face it cautiously. And it is not that difficult!

Happy Traveling!

Avani Raj Arora