Coronavirus FAQs: How Risky Is It To Fly? Is There Any Way To Reduce The Risks?
Each week we answer pressing coronavirus questions. For this week's installment, we're focusing on flying.
We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions."
Since the coronavirus began its spread around the world, the number of people flying has nosedived. In the U.S., for example, the number of flyers has dropped more than 90% since the beginning of March. TSA screened 234,928 travelers on Thursday, compared with 2,611,324 people on the same weekday a year earlier.
With some countries and states are starting to allow businesses to reopen and lifting stay-at-home orders, people are wondering about the risks of flying.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance urges avoiding travel as much as possible, "especially if your trip is not essential .... Don't travel if you are sick or travel with someone who is sick." Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19, the CDC states.
, chief medical officer at Beverly Hospital in Massachusetts and a professor of emergency medicine at Tufts University, agrees: Even as some restrictions start to lift, he believes that it's still not a great time to
