I'm thinking of taking a trip. This would probably be in late May. This trip would require airplanes, two of them in each direction, with a layover. About 9 hours with the layover.
What I'd like the group wisdom on is, would this be a reasonable risk for somebody like myself - no longer young, no longer in robust health, and thus accordingly more vulnerable - to take who has not had the Covid and wishes not to get it?
I'm less concerned about another trip I'm thinking of with a short, single-hop flight, but the problems with this one are the 3 airports in each direction instead of 2 - I'm told the airports are more risky than the flights - and that I wouldn't be able to keep my mask on at all times, because I can't spend 12 hours (the effective length of the trip) without eating.
My heart wants to take this trip, but my head is skeptical of its feasibility. What do you think?
I think it's reasonable to go. I'm 61, fully boosted. In the last year I've made two cross-country flights, each with an airport layover. It's usually possible to find an isolated area of an airport, e.g. an unused gate, where you can quickly eat and drink without being too close to anyone else. If it's necessary to eat or drink on the plane, you can quickly lower your mask, take a bite or sip, and raise your mask again. When boarding, you can stand aside instead of crowding into the lineup of people, and just merge in when it's your turn.
ReplyDeleteI also fly a short round-trip a couple of times a month, never lowering my mask. So far I have not gotten COVID.
I can only second the comment by 'Anonymous' above; I recently went to Milwaukee, something like 15+ hrs in each direction with layovers and made sure when eating something I went for a corner where there weren't that many people. I caught the flu from my girlfriend over Christmas (she's a nursery school teacher so I'll probably get everything from a cold to a flu from her) but except for that I was quite fine.
ReplyDeleteKeeping fingers crossed in any case.