You Had Coronavirus Questions. We Had Doctors Answer Them
Original article from The Boston Globe by Felice J. Freyer, 2020
As coronavirus cases increase in number, so do the questions from Globe readers. Here are some of the more common queries submitted to us in the past few days. In many instances, it’s too early to provide firm answers, but several experts did their best.
Should people cancel their vacation travel plans to avoid catching Covid-19?
If you were planning to visit China, Iran, Italy, or South Korea, the answer is yes. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise against all nonessential travel to those nations.
For trips anywhere else, it depends on where you’re going, your conveyance, and your tolerance for risk.
“You don’t know where the virus is going to be,” said Dr. Stanley Perlman, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa and a member of the American Academy for Microbiology.
If you’re traveling overseas, and an outbreak occurs in the place you visit, the risk of getting sick is not your only concern: You could get quarantined on your return, he noted.
Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, medical director of the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center, urges would-be travelers to check the CDC website and consult their local board of health. In Boston, she said, the Mayor’s Health Hotline is a good resource: 617-534-5050 or toll-free: 1-800-847-0710.
“At the present time,” said Dr. Daniel R. Kuritzkes, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “at least within the continental United States, there’s no compelling reason not to travel.”