Travelling during COVID-19

Checklist to stay safe and avoid exposure

 

Avoiding non-essential travel is the best way to reduce the risk of exposure For essential travel, use this checklist to help you plan to be safe while you are away and when you return home.

GENERAL

• Stay local and keep travel to domestic destinations.
• At this time, the Government of Canada is advising all Canadians to
  • avoid non-essential travel outside Canada until further notice
  • avoid all cruise ship travel outside Canada until further notice.
• Border restrictions are still in place at the Canada-U.S. border.
• Crossing the Canada-U.S. border for discretionary purposes, including tourism, recreation, and entertainment, is not permitted.

BEFORE

• Limit the size of your travel group. Your fellow travellers should be limited to those in your household.
• Choose transportation that limits exposure, such as private vehicles. Being in the same car is a close contact exposure. Only carpool with those from your household. If you need to take a plane, train, bus, or
  other public transportation, remember to bring your own mask.
• Choose accommodation that avoids close contact with others. Living and staying together is a close contact exposure. Only people in the same household should share accommodations. If you must share accommodations with non-household members, try to have separate bedrooms and bathrooms.
• Know how to get health care at your destination if you need it. Remember to bring enough medication for your trip. Make a plan for how to get health care and how to return home safely if someone becomes ill during the trip. 
• Bring your own supply of masks and hand sanitizer. Masks are not for sharing. It never hurts to have one or more spare masks when travelling, in case one gets soiled. 
• Check before you go. And have a Plan B. The COVID-19 virus is still circulating widely and outbreaks can happen at any time. Check the websites of local public health authorities at your destination to stay
  informed of the rules and the risks. Have an open and honest conversation with your travel companions
  about everyone’s comfort level with travel decisions. Have a backup plan.

DURING

• Meeting up with friends or relatives outside your household? Physical distancing is the best way to keep everyone safe. Avoid close contact with others outside of your household by staying 2 metres apart at all times. This is most easily done in a controlled setting like a private home or at an outdoor setting like a park, where there is good ventilation and plenty of space to spread out. Check out APH’s other tips on how to socialize safely.
• Choose dining options that protect you from close contact exposures with others. Sharing a meal at the same table is a close contact exposure. If people are not in the same household, avoid sharing a large group meal, whether at a restaurant or in a private home. If gathering over a meal, consider distanced options like having each household sit at different tables or areas separated by at least 2 metres.
• Be patient and flexible. Skip the crowds. Stay distanced in lineups. Popular destinations may get crowded from time to time. Choose activities where you and your family or travel companions can stay safe and maintain physical distancing from other people. Remember to respect the rules of the places you visit.
• Keep track of your itinerary. If you do have a close contact exposure, where you spend more than 15 minutes with another person while less than 2 metres apart, make a note of it. Write down the person, place and time. If someone does become ill, this information can help with contact tracing.

AFTER

• Monitor yourself for symptoms. If you get sick, stay home and call your local assessment centre for testing.
• Consider avoiding other gatherings, trips for the 14 days following your return home.
• Write down details of any close contact. Sometimes people get too close. If you spent more than 15 minutes together with someone outside your household and you were less than 2 metres apart, that is considered a close contact. Write down the person, place and time. Any close contact could be a possible exposure to the coronavirus.

 

Last Modified: October 5, 2020