Traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic is risky and can increase the spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends avoiding all non-essential travel, especially international travel. However, if you must travel, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and others. Do not travel until 5 full days after your last close contact with the person with COVID-19. It's best to avoid traveling for a full 10 days after your last exposure.
Getting vaccinated and wearing a mask when you travel can help protect yourself from COVID-19 while you travel. Updated WHO recommendations for international traffic in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak should be taken into account. Compared to air travel, traveling by car is a less risky way to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before you leave town, be sure to review state and local travel restrictions and do some research to find out if COVID-19 is spreading in your area or where you are traveling.
If you must travel by air, the CDC and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly recommend that travelers wear masks. A systematic review of the effectiveness of international travel measures (screening, travel restrictions and border closures) in controlling pandemic influenza identified 15 studies and found that measures implemented in time could delay local transmission by a few days or weeks, delay transmission international propagate and delay the epidemic peak in isolated locations by reducing the number of planting events. Most studies on international travel measures did not take domestic travel measures into account, which likely led to biased estimates. Private companies, such as airlines and cruise ships, have also implemented travel measures that, while also not subject to the IHR, further restrict travel during this pandemic.
The study concludes that domestic travel measures implemented in Wuhan were effective in reducing the importation of cases internationally and within China and that additional travel restrictions were likely to be important as well. Fourth, many of the studies focusing on the effectiveness of international travel measures did not take into account the implementation of the national travel ban to Wuhan. Because travel can increase a person's chances of contracting and spreading COVID-19, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on celebrating the holidays states that “postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year.
