BALTIMORE – With the holiday season approaching, individuals and families alike can travel across the state, across the country, and possibly even abroad.

Dr. Theodore Bailey, the GBMC’s infectious disease director, says the most important thing is to be prepared.

“I think every time you talk about traveling in the age of COVID you have to ask yourself two things that are immediately safety related: what will you do when you are there and how will you accomplish it? said Dr. Bailey.

You have to ask yourself what you are going to do when you are there, who you are going to be with, etc. These are the biggest risk implications this trip will bring for you.

The more people you have with you, the more time you spend with more people and the certainty or lack of certainty you have about their vaccination status will all affect how dangerous it is to come into contact with COVID and possibly getting infected with it.

Dr. Bailey explains that we should still be sensible and take precautions when planning her trips.

“I would say there is absolutely no consolation to have avoided COVID infection for a year and a half and then in a sense understand it. Then what did you do the year and a half of caution for?” he explained. “You know, we still run the risk of acquiring it and therefore still risk getting sick from what you are doing.”

You would not drive safely for 20 years and then one day you would say, “Hey, I haven’t had a car accident, I’ll just start texting and going 120 mph,” explained Dr. Bailey. So why should you stop being careful when it comes to COVID?

Besides being safe during your trip, make sure you have a plan in place in case you get COVID on the way back.

“So you really want to think about it and see if I am going there and this is my way of traveling back, what is my worst case scenario? I get COVID while I am there, how will that affect me? Can I? Back? ‘”He continued.” Do I have to find an alternative way to come back and what would my health resources be?

You really want to think about how to travel and access healthcare in the worst case scenario where you or someone in your tour group actually becomes infected with COVID.

Overall, there is no problem with over-planning or over-preparation. Taking the steps ahead of time to ensure your safety will only make you better prepared in the long run in case you or someone you know gets infected.