Member-only story
If You Have to Travel, Should You Take a Plane or Car?
Here’s what the experts say
The pandemic has thrown a wrench into the summer plans of people around the world. Right now many places have stay-at-home orders that largely restrict travel. However, as states begin lifting these restrictions or people need to move, there are questions about the safest way to do so. Is it better to take a road trip but risk stops along the way? Or is it better to take an airplane and spend hours in tight quarters with strangers?
“Any form of travel at this current time in the Covid-19 pandemic involves risk,” says Dr. Jill Weatherhead, an assistant professor of tropical medicine and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine. “Knowing the most up-to-date information regarding the virus and travel restrictions is critical.”
Weatherhead points out that taking public forms of transportation like buses, trains, or planes can undoubtedly mean close exposure to more people in different areas of the country. “While waiting within airports, bus spots, and train stations as well as while riding in planes, buses, and trains, practicing social distancing as much as possible; disinfecting highly touched surfaces such as seats, trays, armrests; and wearing a facial covering may help reduce viral transmission during travel,” she says.
