Coronavirus: What you should know before your next vacation

Americans are expected to take over 700 million trips this summer, according to AAA. But this year, there’s a lot more to consider before traveling due to coronavirus.

Many people, including Matthew Hoblit, are eager to take a vacation. Hoblit said he and his girlfriend are planning a trip to Myrtle Beach at the end of July; however, they’re worried a beach vacation could put their health at risk.

“I am getting all this different information of several people who went there and came back to Ohio and testing positive, so I’m like, ‘do we go, do we not go?” Hoblit asked.

Officials in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have issued warnings to people about visiting Myrtle Beach where COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

On Wednesday, Horry County, where Myrtle Beach is located, broke its single-day record of COVID cases. Other popular beach spots along the East coast have also seen a recent spike in numbers.

“Every day we are hearing more and more reports of cities that are becoming hot spots so you want to monitor that and try to avoid those locations and certainly avoid any location that is overcrowded,” San Suffoletto with Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County said.

News Center 7′s Katy Andersen asked Suffoletto if Public Health has been able to link positive COVID cases in the Miami Valley to popular vacation destinations.

Suffoletto replied, “There is a 14-day incubation period, so if you go out of town for 3 days, and then you come back, there’s no way to tell if you contracted COVID while you were out of town for those 3 days or the 7 days prior when here in Dayton.”

If you are traveling this summer, Suffoletto encourages you to keep these tips in mind: avoid populated spots, wear a mask in public, wash your hands regularly, and social distance. If you’re staying in a hotel, he said you should sanitize your room and decline housekeeping to limit your exposure to people.

“We are recommending you go the extra step and not leave your safety to others, but take responsibility of your own safety and go that extra mile and do some cleaning on top of what they’ve already done – that will increase your safety level,” Suffoletto said.

When you travel back to Ohio, Suffoletto said you do not have to quarantine, but you should monitor your symptoms over the next two weeks. If you do develop COVID symptoms, then you should quarantine.

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