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Travel safely during COVID-19 – Stop doing these things

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Published on July 27, 2021. EST READ TIME: 2.5 minutes



After being cooped up at home for over a year due to COVID, you must be dying to travel now, especially since vaccines are making life a little easier. It is also true that things need to go back to normal sooner or later. However, since we are yet to conquer the pandemic completely, you must travel with care to reduce the risk of infection. This means, you need to stop doing certain things that you were not mindful about before. So, apart from buying travel insurance online (choose a policy that covers COVID), here are a few mistakes to avoid.

1. Travelling when you are sick–Not spreading the virus is as important as not getting infected yourself. So, if you have a fever or other COVID-like symptoms, like exhaustion, dry cough, body pain, or sore throat, wait for a couple of days to see if they subside. Or better still, get tested. Make travel plans only when you are sure you are not sick. Travelling with COVID is not only a danger for others, but it will also aggravate your condition.
2. Touching others or common surfaces –Avoid shaking hands, hugging or patting other people, even if you chance upon an old friend or colleague while travelling. Keep your distance and avoid crowds wherever possible. Escalators, elevators, ATM machines, check-in counters, wallets and mobile devices are high-contact surfaces. So, try and minimise contact wherever possible or sanitise your hands repeatedly.
3. Touching your mouth, eyes or nose unmindfully –Make a conscious effort to not touch your face with unclean hands or after you have touched a common surface. If an infected person touches any surface, the virus can linger on it for hours, and pass on to someone else who is not careful. If you must touch your face or eat, wash your hands with soap thoroughly first or use a sanitiser if water is not available.
4. Not packing hygiene essentials–Travelling in the middle of a pandemic means you have to focus on hygiene. Make sure you pack extra masks, wet wipes, tissues and sanitisers that contain more than 60% alcohol. Keep a separate pouch for storing discarded masks or wipes in case there is no dustbin in sight for the disposal of biohazard materials.
5. Not sanitising your bags –Since your baggage will undergo multiple security checks and will be handled by different people at different points, clean it with a sanitiser spray or disinfectant wipes after you get it at your destination. Also try and carry fewer than usual bags to minimise the hassle of disinfecting them.
6. Not covering up enough –To reduce your skin’s contact with commonly touched surfaces and other people, make sure you wear clothes that cover you well. Long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants are a good bet. Instead of sandals or slippers, wear closed shoes with socks to avoid touching floors. Cover your head with a scarf or a capto minimise your hair’s contact with any infected surface.
7. Not choosing a clean place to stay – Don’t just choose any hotel as it might not be clean or hygienic enough. Research well before booking a place and check out reviews. Talk to the management about their hygiene protocols and disinfect common surfaces in the room with your own spray or wet wipes.
8. Not researching about the pandemic status of your destination–Whether you are travelling for business or pleasure, find out how many cases have been reported by the state or country you are heading to. Check whether it has high-risk zones that you should avoid. Be aware of the COVID and travel protocols of your destination country and follow them.

Get travel insurance for better protection

Apart from avoiding the above mistakes, get travel insurance online to make your journey safer and stress-free. It will just take a few minutes and you won’t have to step outside. Just make sure it covers all expenses that arise due to a COVID-related medical emergency. Such a policy can protect you against financial liabilities that crop up in case you are hospitalised due to a sudden illness, accident, or even in case of permanent disability or death. The right travel insurance policy will even cover medical evacuation and repatriation of mortal remains. Moreover, you will get compensation in case of loss or delay of checked-in baggage, loss of passport, theft, flight delay or hijack, extended hotel stay due to any medical emergency and any third-party liability.

To conclude 

With the COVID pandemic still raging (though not as wildly as before), it makes sense to follow safety tips sincerely and avoid unnecessary travel. Get insured without fail and in case you feel unwell during your trip or after reaching your destination, inform medical authorities without delay.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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