Last month, Science Times featured a checklist for traveling safely during the holiday season from Thanksgiving, to Christmas, and to celebrating the New Year.
The list suggests discussing trips with the family, checking the car before the trip, packing only necessary things, and sanitizing overnight accommodations. However, one cannot check the car before starting the trip if they are not using their own cars or renting a car.
Many people would still choose to commute to go home this holiday season. But do you know the riskiest mode of transportation in traveling these holidays during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Riskiest Way to Travel
Epidemiologists revealed that the results of their latest survey showed that traveling home this holiday season by bus is the riskiest mode of transportation because the bus has a poor ventilation system, BGR reported.
It is the same problem for those people working in closed spaces, like the office. A recent report by Science Times suggested that HVAC systems in closed spaces should always be cleaned and checked for any damages that need to be repaired. This principle should also be applied in buses that use HVAC systems to filter the air inside and introduce fresh to the passengers.
According to the MIT Medical website, the air inside a vehicle is filtered and replaced around 11 to 28 times an hour (depending on the type of vehicle). But viral particles could continue to circulate inside which means that wearing face masks is still a necessary safety factor.
However, Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins said that it might be more difficult to keep the face masks on a longer ride, and most likely it is not strictly enforced as it is on a plane.
Meanwhile, traveling via train provides higher protection than buses. But experts said that the safest way to travel is by car, and as much as possible, refrain from making any pit stops to be safer.
As Small As Possible
After Thanksgiving, the Christmas season is now in full swing. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is urging Americans to keep the holiday celebrations as small as possible. He also believes that traveling during this time poses great risks and should be avoided.
Dr. Fauci recently explained that a gathering of ten people may still be a bit too much. He stressed the importance of being careful especially for those people who will be coming home from out of town.
"You get indoors and you take your mask off because you're eating and drinking and you don't realize that there may be somebody that you know that you love who is perfectly well with no symptoms and yet they got infected into the community," he said.
Fauci is known to be a man who practices what he preaches. He said that for the first time in 30 years, this year he will not be celebrating Christmas with his family.
Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.
