Recently we talked about the ways you can stay safe while road-tripping during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Taking a road trip is still considered as the safest way to travel when taking the right precautions. Road tripping is also pretty much the only way for Americans to travel at this point. This is mostly because many countries have banned U.S. citizens from visiting altogether, but we will get into that later. Here is what you need to know about the spike in coronavirus cases and how it relates to road trips. 

July 4 holiday and the rise in COVID-19 cases

It’s an absolute fact that stay-at-home orders helped flatten the curve in regards to coronavirus cases. However, states like Georgia opened ahead of CDC recommended guidelines and other states soon followed. According to a recent CNN report, Americans are taking more long road trips than they were before the coronavirus crisis hit. The recent July 4 holiday only increased the number of people taking long road trips. 

Americans made 32.2 million trips that were over 50 miles long leading up to the week of July 4. This is a slight increase from the 31.9 million trips taken during this time last year CNN says. Since many of the stay-at-home orders have expired, there are new coronavirus hotspots in Florida, Arizona, Texas, and California along with many others. These trends have been very concerning to health care experts.

Inconsistent safety guidelines have only made things worse

Since COVID-19 intensified in the U.S, the states haven’t exactly been united. We can chalk that up to the politicization of masks along with other recommendations made by the CDC. Because of this, the U.S. is all over the place in controlling the spread of the virus.

States like Illinois have upheld masks mandates while places like Florida have been a free-for-all. This had led some states to issue incoming travel advisories to stop the spread of COVID-19. New Jersey for example has issued a 14-day quarantine for individuals coming from virus hotspots like Florida and Georgia. 

Right now, there are over 3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and 137K deaths. At this rate, the spikes will continue. It’s no wonder that the inconsistency across the U.S. in handling this crisis has influenced other nations to view American passports as worthless.

Remember these tips to road-trip safely

Technically, the safest way to travel at this point is not to, but people aren’t going to stay at home forever. Road trips are the safest way to go since you can control the space you share with others unlike you would be able to on a plane or in a train. Before you go on your trip, remember to pack enough masks and hand sanitizers to help keep you and others safe. Minimizing the number of stops you make helps too. It’s also important to avoid large crowds altogether once you reach your road trip destination.