How to Protect Yourself While Traveling During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Limiting close contact with people who are sick can help lower your risk for contracting a respiratory infection, such as COVID-19 or the flu.

But that can be difficult to do when you’re traveling on a plane, cruise ship, or other mass transit.

According to an air quality expert from Purdue University, the air conditioning systems on cruise ships aren’t designed to filter out viruses.

“It’s standard practice for the air conditioning systems of cruise ships to mix outside air with inside air to save energy. The problem is that these systems can’t filter out particles smaller than 5,000 nanometers,” Qingyan Chen, PhD, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, said in a recent news release.

“If the coronavirus is about the same size as SARS, which is 120 nanometers in diameter, then the air conditioning system would be carrying the virus to every cabin,” he continued.

Planes have more effective air filtration systems, but people who are sitting close to a passenger who’s coughing or sneezing may still be exposed to airborne germs.

If you’re worried about contracting a respiratory infection from another passenger, wearing a face mask may help lower the risk.

“Face masks can be considered for sick travelers to help reduce the spread of respiratory germs and for people sitting near sick travelers with respiratory symptoms, when the sick traveler cannot tolerate wearing a mask,” Morledge explained.