Coronavirus Protection: 5 Safety Tips that Every Traveller Needs to Know

Covid-19 or popularly known as Novel Coronavirus, struck the world with surprise after its detection in Wuhan province in December 2019. It belongs to a family of another pair of deadly viruses - SARS and MERS. Novel Coronavirus virus has claimed more than 5.5 Lacs lives in most parts of the world As per studies, the disease might have started from the animal market in Wuhan, but now has a human-to-human transmission, thereby making it highly contagious. Furthermore, the disease has spread to most parts of the world through the means of international travel.

1. Cancel Your Trips to the Affected Areas
   It all started in China but now has spread to every other countries in the world.
   So, the best option to protect yourself from Covid-19 is to cancel your plans to any such country or region that is affected by this epidemic. Moreover, with an incubation period (a period where the virus is already present in the body, but it is not showing any symptoms) of 2-14 days, the detection of symptoms is quite late. Any travel to such countries, even though in the relatively safer regions, might put you at high risk.
   
   
2. Plan Your Transit Accordingly
   The Coronavirus long incubation period makes it hard for airports to detect it even by using thermal screening, thereby increasing your chance of catching the virus. Therefore, it is highly recommended to check the transit route and plan your travel accordingly.
   
   
3. Avoid Public Places
   Being an airborne virus, the disease has the potential to infect you if an afflicted person sneezes or coughs near you. Moreover, as per many studies, it has been found that this virus does not travel much in the air, rather tends to settle on a piece of fabric through the medium of air. So, public places that have a lot of physical contact can be quite dangerous. Hence, it would be advisable to keep your distance from such places. In addition, while travelling, avoid shaking hands and touching potentially contaminated surfaces. 
   
   
4. Be Well-Equipped
   Apart from your regular travel items, you need to carry masks preferably N95, antimicrobial hand sanitizer and soaps. It is important to maintain personal hygiene, especially washing your hands regularly. Moreover, as no cure or vaccine has been found yet, it is essential to keep your immunity strong by having healthy food. In order to maintain good immunity, your food items should have vitamins such as C, D and E that helps in boosting antioxidants in the body or micronutrients such as zinc and iron. Furthermore, you must also avoid having close contacts with animals as they are the primary carriers of Coronavirus.
   
   
5. Health Insurance
   Now that the World Health Organisation has declared Coronavirus a pandemic, most people are concerned about the disease treatments and cure. However, all such concerns can be quelled within no time if you have health insurance to your name. Whether it’s getting your check-up done or being admitted to the hospital, health insurance can take care of everything. Additionally, a travel insurance policy would be a cherry on the top if you are a frequent international traveller.
   
   

Since its onset on the world stage, Coronavirus has been spreading like wildfire, wreaking havoc in most countries. So, countries bordering the affected ones have also put up new travel restrictions. Some of them are denying visa, while others have asked for a self-declaration duly authenticated by a hospital attesting that you are not infected. So, you need to be vigilant about which countries have such travel restrictions. However, it best to avoid any non-essential travel and try to stay indoors. For information related to Life Insurance, Term Plan and Term Insurance visit us at PNB MetLife.