Should You Stop Traveling in the Light of Coronavirus?
Don’t Let This Bug Bug you!
If you’re feeling slightly panicked, your hands are sweating and you feel a headache coming on, it can make you a little paranoid that you’re coming down with something. Well relax, those are not the symptoms of COVID-19. It’s probably just overwhelming anxiety about everything you’ve seen on tv and read in the news – not to mention the endless posts on your social media!
Whym‘s not trying to make light of it. We all have people in our lives who are elderly or have weakened immune systems or severe chronic conditions. It would be foolish to not be concerned for those people. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there is no evidence that healthy individuals and even children are any more susceptible to this virus than they are others. Infection among these groups is relatively uncommon.
Everyone would be wise to keep an eye on their people for symptoms such as fever, cough and respiratory distress (wheezing/shortness of breath). However here are the facts according to the World Health Organization (WHO):
Travel should be discouraged to only a few countries: China, South Korea,Italy and Iran. This has prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Level 4 (do not travel) advisory to China and Iran and a Level 3 (reconsider travel) advisory for South Korea and Italy. Aren’t you glad that Whym only books trips in the U.S. and territories?!
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Keep in mind that 95% of all cases are in China where the outbreak originated.
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As has been the case since the outbreak began late last year, travelers are more likely to be impacted by the common flu, which has affected more that one billion people worldwide.
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The virus is only transmitted by droplets which can live on surfaces for short periods. The WHO does not consider airplane cabins any more conducive to spreading the coronavirus.
On that note, the airlines are taking every precaution to lessen your anxiety and the possibility of contracting the virus on their planes. They are enhancing their cleaning procedures using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved hospital grade disinfectants and High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters throughout the cabin. This goes beyond the guidelines being placed on them by the CDC.
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Even if you were to come down with the illness, there is a less than 2% fatality rate and that 2% is almost always someone with a pre-existing condition.
To put that into perspective, previous outbreaks of SARS and MERS had mortality rates of 10% and 34%, respectively.
Lastly, we’ve all heard the common sense practices that we should all be adhering to to protect ourselves just in case. Wash your hands for 20 seconds and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Duh.
Look, if you’re still feeling spooked about flying, and all this information hasn’t put your mind at ease, call Whym. We are on the case like silent ninjas!