During the pandemic, an unprecedented number of people have been forced to stay home or isolated for their health and the safety of those around them. And even if we wanted to travel abroad, borders were closed for a long time. Now, borders are starting to re-open as vaccine rollouts continue to advance.
While this doesn’t negate the caution still needed to protect yourself from COVID-19, it does shine as a beacon of hope for the future. As borders continue to open, you’ll probably begin to think about rescheduling many of the personal affairs the virus canceled.
In this post, we will get into preparing a travel health and safety kit that will minimize your exposure to viruses like Covid.
Your Ultimate Travel Kit to Stay Healthy & Safe
- Face Mask – for any areas you believe to be prone to sickness
- Sanitizers – such as a small, travel-size bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and a packet of wet wipes (keep in mind this is to be used when soap and water are not readily available and is only a temporary solution)
- Soap – try your local grocery store for a compact piece of soap that can easily be carried in a travel bag while you’re out and about
- Basic Medicines – particularly those for reducing a fever and treating sneezing and/or coughing
- Gloves – to be used when in a dirtier area or (though we recommend the general safety of social distancing) when you need to be in direct contact with an infected area or person
- Tissues – have a travel amount of tissues, napkins, or other wipes to dispense of infected bodily fluids; this is especially important for covering your mouth prior to sneezing and disposing of the tissue immediately after
- Immunity-Boosting Vitamins – have a pack of Emergen-C to add to your bottle of water and/or a travel amount of vitamin gummies or pills to keep your immune system fighting
- Band-Aids / First-Aid Wraps – to cover cuts or exposed wounds immediately, especially when you’re doing a copious amount of walking or traveling through large crowds
No matter where you travel, it is vital for you to be fully prepared. If there is anything we can take away from Covid, it’s to never underestimate the power of infection. As you begin to embark on new travel plans following the virus, we highly recommend creating a “go-bag” of health and safety essentials.
Don’t Forget Your Best Defenses: Social Distancing and Face Masks
When you get back into the swing of things and begin to travel again, it can be difficult to avoid large crowds, especially if you’re attending a large event. That said, you should rigorously practice social distancing in many scenarios while traveling—just to be safe.
At first, this may seem limiting to your way of life. But, at the end of the day, the more social distancing you can practice in areas of illness, the better for you and the people you come into contact with after. Your travel kit is meant to be an aid in maintaining social distancing.
Face masks can also help to protect you from breathing in germs in public spaces and from touching your mouth and nose. Wearing a face mask in public is encouraged in some places and mandated in others. Be sure to check the local guidelines to see if you are required to wear a mask before going out. Some areas or events you travel to, especially in the foreseeable future, may require a more extreme form of social distancing than others.
When you feel ready to travel again, you may want to test the waters with short overnight trips to nearby places to get used to traveling again before committing to longer, farther adventures. Once you do feel comfortable with plane rides and international trips again, be sure to invest in travel insurance in case your plans are changed, your flight is canceled or your intended destination has another unfortunate outbreak of coronavirus.
