As we started to taxi it became clear that the fella in the middle seat next to me was visibly ill. As he hacked and coughed and sneezed into his face mask, I adjusted my own mask and had a brief moment of panic. Does he have COVID? Will I get sick? Four hours later we exited the plane and 6 days later, no sickness for me and no COVID either. Are masks that good?
Traveling has been reported to be remarkably safe – especially on airplanes. In fact, recently the Department of Defense published a report stating that air travelers have a very low probability of contracting COVID on a plane. Indeed, many of the airlines have also been saying the same thing. I put the theory to test on a recent trip to New England.
On my ~four hour trip from Denver to Boston’s Logan Airport I had the misfortune of sitting next to a young man (probably in his 20’s) who was visibly ill. The flight was full so relocating wasn’t an option, and I wasn’t about to “Karen” this fella with the flight attendants. I also didn’t realize it until we were taxiing down the runway. He was seated directly next to me in the middle seat and I had an aisle. We were crammed in pretty tight.
After he stifled what was clearly a very needed sneeze for about 10 minutes I finally leaned over to him and said, “Bro, just sneeze already.” He laughed and said, “Don’t worry man, I don’t have COVID. It’s just a cold.” I weakly chuckled back. Over the course of the next four hours he sneezed several times, hacked and coughed a bunch more times, and used his mask to deal with his dripping nose.
We were both wearing masks and the air on planes is cleaned and recycled every 3 minutes or so. However, I was inwardly panicking a little bit. Yeah, sure it’s recycled every 3 minutes but my face is less than 3 minutes away from his face…would it be recycled in time? Was I going to die? Yeah, that was a stupid thought. Even if I did get COVID the chances of me dying were extremely slim. Extremely slim. Besides, he had a mask. I had a mask. We were not holding hands. LOL.
After we arrived, I kept tab on things for the next few days. Checking my temperature, worrying a little bit, of course. Same thing when I returned home. Ultimately, though, not only did I not get COVID (2 negative COVID tests proved it), I didn’t even catch the guy’s cold. Those damn masks seem to work pretty well, never mind the precautions airlines are taking.
That’s pretty amazing, really. And, in my mind, speaks to the effectiveness of wearing face masks. And the measures travel providers are taking to keep passengers safe. It also highlights, again, in my opinion, why folks really ought to consider getting out a bit more (safely, of course). I am certainly not a medical expert, but I’ve now flown three times in the COVID era for work, plus taken a few road trips. All have involved rental cars, airports, hotels, gas stations, stores, customers, and more. Not once did I get ill.
This is likely because of the measures I have taken when traveling. Things like:
- Wearing a face mask when advised
- Wiping down surfaces in hotels, rental cars, and the airplane seat area itself
- Minimizing my use of airplane lavatories
- Minimizing the drinking and eating of food on planes
- Socially distancing whenever possible (socially distancing on an airplane is literally not possible, mind you)
- Using copious amounts of hand sanitizer
- Avoiding touching my face & eyes
- Washing my hands frequently (and correctly)
Additionally, the measures that travel providers are taking to improve the safety of their customers is helping too. From enhanced cleaning measures that every single airline is taking, to enhanced hotel room cleaning, to less indoor eating, and electrostatic cleaning of rentals cars, etc, etc, etc.
My experience, thus far, is that travel is safer than expected. If you are willing to play along.
If you insist on being a douchebag and not wearing your mask on the plane (or wherever else you are supposed to), then yeah, you might get sick. But, if you follow the rules, and, of course, are not in a high-risk status (see CDC’s guidance here), travel can be safer than you might think. At least that’s been my experience.
Note: to be clear, the CDC’s guidance on travel still suggests people should avoid traveling: “Travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.” I am not suggesting you should throw caution to the wind and start booking trips willy nilly, I am suggesting that travel seems to be safer than you might think and that the CDC should consider altering it’s travel policies given the relative safety travel can now be completed in.
It’s also worth noting that while this gentleman had a cold (so he claimed), had he had COVID I may have a different result. A recent study concluded, “The most likely route of transmission during the flight is aerosol or droplet transmission from case 1, particularly for persons seated in business class.” They added, “We found no strong evidence supporting alternative transmission scenarios.” Granted, this study was related to international flights, but it did have a striking observation: “Sitting near the ill passenger was strongly tied to increased infection risk.“
How about you? What’s been your travel experience been during the COVID era? Did you get ill while traveling? Did you feel safe? Drop us a comment below or tweet your experience!
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8 comments
As long as you pray to Dr Fauci every day, Covid can’t hurt you.
Just trust the media, it’s a miracle you didn’t turn into a vampire. Maybe call CNN?
Your points are well taken but I think that you’re basing a lot on a one time anecdotal situation. That’s like saying how it’s a great idea to hit an 18 in blackjack because you tried it once and you won as a result.
Wear an N-95 concealed under an outer mask. The N-95 for you. The outer layer for fellow travelers.
Yes it was to late once you were about to takeoff to do much but, regardless of that point, I would have said something to cabin crew. No idea why you compare doing that to acting like a so-called “Karen†as the comparison is baseless. Good that you didn’t catch his cold (or Covid) and much applause for the air exchange on aircraft.
There’s a recent (not peer reviewed yet) study that somewhat confirms your experience: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/10/15/its-almost-impossible-get-covid-19-airplane-new-military-study-suggests.html.
yep, that’s what I as indirectly referencing.
Thanks for sharing this experience you had. I am not one to wear masks unless it’s necessary at keeping others safe or in a place where it might not be safe, social distancing, in other words, I take off my mask when I exit doors when coming out of a store or establishment where masks are required. I feel wearing masks in a plane, especially when this man was sick, either just a cold or otherwise, maybe just a cold. I’m glad you didn’t get sick, so masks may be a good thing, when around sick people, even if all they have is a cold. The Asian people, do this quite frequently, they wear masks if they are sick, just to keep others around them safe, I talked to someone who was from the Asian part of the world. A very good read and a great article, sta safe and blessings to you!
Thanks Ted. My brother is married to a Chinese woman and I’d always wondered why you’d see Asian folks wearing face masks from time to time at airports (pre-covid). Apparently, as she told me, it has to do with respect for others. If they were sick or were near a family member who might have been ill they want to limit the spread of illness. A classy move on their part.