Yes, I am the crazy lady traveling to multiple states during the COVID-19 outbreak. Yes, I know that this isn’t the most advisable time to travel but I literally have to see some of the most important people in my life before I leave and I don’t have time. So yes, I’m catching multiple flights to multiple states up and down the east coast, the Midwest and the south.
So how am I traveling during the pandemic?
Allow me to bring you along with me to New York. I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and a friend asked how I’ve been keeping myself safe as I travel so I figured that I would share with you how to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have created a travel routine that I seldom deviate from:
- I drink one packet of Emergen-c pre-flight and do so daily when I travel.
- Hand washing over hand sanitizer! I hand wash multiple times from when I get past TSA and right after I land. I hand wash every time I get back from outside to my hotel room.
- Don’t touch your face – I know this sounds so simple but I cant tell you how hard it is for me! I find my hands migrating to my face on their own and then i have to adjust my focus so that I can ignore the urge to go back to my face!
- I use toner/cleansing wipes/miscellar water before cleansing my face – I found that taking time on this step ensures that the external impurities that rest on my face are removed during this step and subsequently during my skin care routine.
- Cleansing tools – these have always been a part of my packing lists (see here and here). However, with COVID rampant, I don’t board a flight without these in my hand luggage as well as checked bag.
- Wipe everything down – In-flight: the airlines are doing their best wiping down the seats as well as the tray tables but I do that on my own anyway. I rather know that I have my seating area clean. At the hotel: Depending on the room, I clean the handles, switches, and try wipe down as many surfaces as possible – tables, side tables, vanity area – you get the picture. We be cleaning. The luggage:I wipe down the exterior of the luggage I used for the trip.
- Don’t lean on anything – not the poles, not the rails, not the elevator walls, no handles. When riding the escalator I purposely use my elbow as initial support or if i touch the handle I hand wash after going through TSA.
- No outside clothes on the bed – my elder sister was a stickler for this rule when we were young and now I’m her. I don’t relax in the room in the clothes that I spent time outside the hotel in. I have a change of clothes ready when I get back to my room at the end of a day seeing sights in the city.
- Bring a laundry bag – I always travel with a laundry bag so that the clothes worn during my travels are stowed separately from the clothes that are yet to be worn.
- Bring more than one mask – Just in case, ya know?!
Bonus: purchase a UV phone sanitizer (see here). Phones carry germs (bacteria and viruses) and ensuring that you frequently wipe them down or use this sanitation device is paramount to ensuring that you aren’t speeding germs around.
These are some of the ways in which I have either reinforced my travel behavior or introduced new behaviors when traveling. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list but I figured that I would share what has been giving me peace of mind as I travel. It mainly boils down to common sense, good hygiene and what gives you peace of mind.
I hope this helps. Be safe as you travel mes amours!
