Is It OK To Travel?

Missing Beautiful Kauai

Many posts by (insert your favorite travel blog name here) are asking the question, “when will it be all right to start traveling again?” There’s a lot being written about on this subject. After reading many ideas and attitudes about the travel question, my own opinion on this has changed. I think I may have come up with an answer (at least that I will follow).

Looking Back to March

The week of March 15th, 2020 is one we will all remember. Around the world the COVID-19 pandemic was worsening by the day. Earlier in the year on January 23rd China had officially locked down Wuhan, its ninth largest city. A month later Italy locked down on February 23rd. On Wednesday March 11th President Trump declared a travel ban on Europe, and then two days later on Friday March 13th declared the corona virus pandemic a national emergency. That following Monday March 16th the President issued guidelines that asked Americans’ to avoid social contact in order to slow the spread. On Thursday March 19th California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide shelter in place order, with New York and much of the country soon following. March certainly was the month the world changed.

I work at a small office in Roseville California (a suburb of Sacramento), and I remember coming into work that Monday March 16th and wondering if we would need to migrate to a working from home configuration sometime later in the month. By the next day it was obvious we were, and by Wednesday we had decided to make the announcement and move to a “work from home” arrangement. Everything changed so fast. Much to our surprise, the transition went relatively smooth and we were able to preform most, if not all, the tasks necessary to run our business from assorted living rooms and kitchen tables.

During March I Got Use To Traveling In My Home Neighborhood

I review this recent history of the March madness we all faced, as a tool to set the emotional bar of how much our world had changed. It wasn’t long after this time I started seeing a number of articles in the travel blogs titled; “When Will It Be OK To Travel Again?” Several opinions and metrics were given, some thoughtful, and others not as much. I have been grappling with the elements of this question, struggling with the different issues that are involved with traveling during a worldwide pandemic.

March, April, and May are well behind us and we just got through June. April was a slog, with most of us sheltering in place, and some of us eating and/or drinking our way through the month. No judging here. In May many area’s of the country started to open up, and travel and the stock market has started to recover. Now we’re almost through June, and with many of the 48 states open, we are also seeing a rise in new cases of COVID-19 in a number of locations. And so, with this history behind us I started to write about the question “Is it OK to travel again?” The answer I came to even surprised myself. “It’s OK To Travel, If You’re Comfortable With It”. This answer sounds obvious once stated, but it wasn’t obvious to myself until I ran through the mental exercise of answering the question.

We All Miss Taking A Flight Somewhere

The Real Question Is Individual Risk Tolerance

My answer to the travel question has evolved over the last several months. In the beginning I would have answered “absolutely not”. Now, my answer has no absolutes, and to travel at any point really depends on who you are. Why the change from a vigil conformist that was sheltering in place, to an uncertain relativist who doesn’t believe in the same rules for everyone? Well, not everyone is the same. Someone who has health issues or the responsibilities that could complicate the additional risk of traveling during COVID-19 probably shouldn’t do it. Other persons have less restrictions and will have more flexibility on getting out. Income is another factor. The affluent, or rich if you like, can use their resources to safely travel from one location to another, and have low to minimal contact with other individuals in doing so. You may own more than one property and could reasonably shelter in place at either location. I have a couple friends that fit this situation, and it is fortunate for them. Of course, many people don’t have these resources, but why impede the capabilities of the ones that do.

More importantly though is the question of risk tolerance. Travel always has risk and that risk includes becoming injured or ill during a trip. Today’s travel includes the added risk of a highly contagious virus that is causing a global pandemic. Young and healthy individuals have much better odds of avoiding a severely negative outcomes should they become infected with the COVID-19 virus. Older and health compromised individuals have higher risk, and higher odds of a negative outcome. Everyone else is a blend in between. Other risks include the costs should you be quarantined somewhere during your travel, or worse hospitalized and at the mercy of the local medical infrastructure. In all these cases it’s only the adult individual that can calculate these risks, weigh the possible downsides, and then decide what is acceptable to themselves.

Really Looking Forward To Getting Back To Europe – Copenhagen

But You’re Endangering Others When Traveling

An argument against this line of reasoning and any travel during a pandemic is the burden of risk you place on your neighbor. I see this in the shaming on message and comment boards all the time. “You’re putting essential workers at additional hazard”, in one or, “Stop being selfish and stay at home” is another. I believe there is a fault with this line of reasoning. A point of clarification, if you are sick or infectious, I do agree you should stay at home. There is no excuse for being out in the public and traveling if you’re infected. This is not only true of COVID-19, but also many other diseases. Alternately, if your health is good, and you take precautions while traveling there is no issue with you being in the public. Having stated this, each individual needs to assess the risk of travel for themselves. If the risk is to high for their own comfort level, then they need to stay home.

There is the discussion of asymptomatic spread, but as of today very little research supports the conclusion that this is a major cause of increase. Recent research does support the premise that spread is primarily through person to person conversations and close proximity. It’s a respiratory virus, and the aerosol of human breathing carries the virus from person to person when we are communicating or close to one another for longer periods of time. Crowded spaces with poor ventilation will increase the risk. This type of risky interaction is very manageable by responsible individuals. Mask wearing and social distancing significantly reduce this type of spread. It makes it even more important that this behavior is properly adopted by the public.

Another argument against travel I have run into is the “breaking” of the travel restrictions put in place by government officials. Very few people can travel internationally between different countries. Domestically though, travel has remained relatively open. The CDC had guidelines in place that recommended individuals “should only travel when essential.” For most of us, following these guidelines (especially in the early days) made sense. Most resorts and vacation spots were closed, and we were working from home. Even so, these were guidelines in every sense of the word, and in most areas police or government enforcement was not used. It was the social pressure of doing the right thing that kept many of us in place. There’s nothing like listening to a news conference by Dr. Fauci to make staying at home so much more appealing. Again though, the decision to travel in the United States was mostly left to the individual. If the individual takes precautions and is reasonable and safe while travelling, then travel should be acceptable.

This Answer Works For Me

So, is it OK to travel? I think each individual needs to make that decision for themselves, and then choose how much risk they can take verses the benefit they will gain from traveling. COVID-19 doesn’t make travel impossible, just a lot more complicated. For myself for now, I’m limiting trips to the western half of the United States and only area’s with low positive test results. I’m also frequently testing myself, confirming that I’m not infectious and a carrier of COVID-19. In the final analysis travel needs to be decided by the individual traveling. A person needs to weigh their own acceptance of risks, and then decide if it makes sense for them to go. They need to answer the question, “Am I comfortable in taking this trip?”