As spring break came and went, we see many people spend the week off in different ways. Some people spent the week traveling, others spent it at a relatives home, some also just spent the whole time at their very own house. The last option being the most popular due to Coronavirus still being very real. However, many people were just itching to travel.

As the vaccine becomes more accessible to citizens of the US (16 years and older able to be vaccinated starting april 16th) we saw the numbers of infected people go down. Unfortunately,  the surge in travel because of the break has caused a bit of a spike in different places. Specific states like California, Florida, and Texas are affected. When traveling, whether this be for a late spring break trip or an upcoming summer trip it is very important to take precautions.

Even being fully vaccinated, the CDC recommends not to travel quite yet. If you will be traveling it should only be national and nowhere outside the US. If you are to travel outside the US you are required to quarantine for 14 days and need a clear COVID test to return back to work or school.

Always wearing a mask being the main key in maintaining your health. Airlines require a mask to be on at all times, the only exception is taking off the mask briefly to eat and drink water. Personally, when I traveled over break I made sure to wear a double mask at all times, especially because I traveled to a heavily crowded place. I used a regular surgical mask with a cloth mask on top to insure I was being safe for myself and the people around me. This was not at all uncomfortable, very breathable, and doubled my protection status. This is the  number 1 thing I recommend when traveling.

In the beginning of the pandemic we saw a huge boom for essentials like hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. As the pandemic went on, people got a little less radical and now sanitizing items are easier to find. Sanitizer is also very important when traveling. On most airlines you will be handed some sort of sanitizing hand wipe right in the beginning so you can wipe down your area and whatever else you please such as hands and the items that you brought on board. Using these will help kill any bacteria and will insure an even safer way of traveling.

Another way to stay safe when traveling to heavily tourist places would be staying as far away from others as you can. When traveling it may be hard to do that especially when going to populated places. Personally, I was in a situation where I was seeing the statue of liberty and a group of people would not stay further away from me than I wanted. It is important to speak up upon these matters. Before I could say anything, another person in a separate group asked them to please stay away for the benefit of him as well as their group.. As we know, staying 6 feet apart from one another will help with not spreading COVID.

Because we were in quarantine for almost a year it is very expected that people want to travel. Keeping you and everyone else around you safe is the number one priority. Just make sure you are taking the right precautions!