No Time to Drive Out of Town
If your city has a lot of COVID-19 cases, and this is almost any city at the moment, you may be tempted to visit rural relatives or go on an impromptu vacation in a secluded place. This is actually a terrible idea, and here’s why.
You could spread the disease instead of running away from it
Remember, there are many more people with this disease than they realize it. If you come from a place with a lot of cases, and walking up to a place that (you hope) has few or no cases, it might not be a problem.
I mean, think about it. If the coronavirus does end up spreading everywhere – as it seems likely – it will travel to your favorite holiday village through a traveler. See the ski town of Ischgl, home to just 1,500 residents. People brought the virus there, probably in February , and since then it has become a center of infection. Don’t be that guy.
The coronavirus may already be there
This thing is moving fast. Rather than being the first to bring the virus with them, it may have been someone who went there last week or last month. A quick look at the Hopkins coronavirus dashboard reveals that many rural counties have confirmed cases. As testing improves over the coming weeks, we will see more cases that, it turns out, have occurred to begin with. You are not necessarily running away from something.
Travel helps you connect with people
You cannot distance yourself from society by traveling through airports and bus stations. Think about how many people you associate with while traveling, even if you are traveling alone. You will be stopping at gas stations, grocery stores, hotels, restaurants. Part of the fun of traveling is meeting new people. Well, now is not the time.
Since the outbreak began, the number of visitors to parks, campgrounds and other outdoor attractions has increased. As Christopher Solomon reports on Outside , people gather in places they think don’t count. But they do it. One resident told him, “You [the travelers] are not aloof from all this. You’re just going to a different type of community. “
Small towns can’t handle the surge in business
The capacity of the health system will be a huge factor in how well we can handle this pandemic. Under the current circumstances, hospitals may lack ventilators, intensive care resources, and simply a patient room.
New York is already seeing such a surge. So if you live in New York, you might be tempted to skip the city. But think about where you are going. Small hospitals will also be overwhelmed and need to take care of their patients. Adding sick visitors to the patient count will not help. In some districts, there are no intensive care beds at all.
Therefore, if you are scared and want to do something that will bring you back in control, rest assured that this is a completely normal feeling during a pandemic. These are hard times. But travel is unlikely to solve any of your real-life problems and may endanger you and others.