13: Precautions going outside – what should you worry about when living in a hotel

Q: I’m about to leave on a business trip. Is it safe to live in a hotel and what should I pay attention to?

💁Tracy: Hotels are definitely not as safe as living at home. However, if you don’t have any other choice, please do your best to protect yourself.

Before your travel,

• Gauge how you are feeling. If you have a fever, dry cough, fatigue, or other flu/cold-like symptoms, self-quarantine at home for at least 14 days
• Call hotel ahead of time, ask for a room that has not been lived by other guests by about 3 days or longer if possible
• Prepare disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, bring a small bottle of alcohol and bleach, any other disinfectant, gloves. In addition, remember to bring your own masks, goggles, faceshields, PPEs, towel, pillow cover, toothbrush, and any other toiletries you may need. 

Please consider these recommendations for long-distance travel from this guide.

When you get to the hotel, please consider these steps:

• Change your cloth immediately after travel; do laundry if possible, otherwise, keep your cloth in a sealed laundry bag for 3 days and wash afterwards; 
• Take a shower immediately after you get to your hotel after your travel, or when you get home after you finish the travel. 
• Bedding: disinfect pillow and cover by disinfecting spray; or you can wrap it with a clean towel on the pillow instead; pillow is where your nose, eyes, and mouth will be exposed to most time; make sure the pillow is free from all bugs;
• If you are not sure about the sheets and towels, send them to laundry if needed;
• Any place you will be sitting and touching, disinfect by spraying or wiping first, including,
• Desktops, door handles, faucets, showerheads, toilets, light switches;
• Kitchen cabinets, water kettles, water bottles, armrests, and any other surface that could have been touched by others; 
• Spend time outdoors as much as possible, for example, if hotel has an outdoor lounge or sitting places; 
• Frequently disinfect your hands with wet wipes or hand sanitizer to keep them clean.
• Open doors with a tissue on the handle. If you don’t have a tissue, wash your hands immediately
• Clean your own room to reduce the frequency of cleaning crew in your room
• Order take out to eat yourself in a private setting;
• If you have to eat in the hotel or outside restaurant, try these considerations in this guide, https://tracysguide.blogspot.com/2020/04/10-precautions-going-outside-when-you.html, try to eat by yourself in a private setting, in an outdoor seating, if possible;
• Keep a travel log and diary, of your condition and situation, people you have interacted with; these will come handy in case of the need of contact tracing;

When you finish the travel, monitor your condition for 14 days;

Try to avoid doing these during hotel stay:

• Don’t use the elevator. If you must, use disinfecting wipes or tissues to press the buttons. If you do not have tissues or wipes, wash your hands immediately after touching buttons. Try to take elevator by yourself or keep a safe distance from others if you have to take the same elevator.

• Avoid close interactions with service personnel at the hotel, maintain social distancing.

• Try to take your own luggage if possible, avoid unnecessary contact with others.

• Try to avoid using central air conditioning to prevent air-borne transmission of the virus.

• If you are traveling in a group, don’t stay in the same room. Talk to members of your group over the phone or other virtual connections.

• Avoid using public bathrooms as much as possible. Only use the bathroom in your room.

Tracy’s Toolbox for Traveling in Hotel ü  Disinfecting wipes ü  Wet wipes or sprays labeled “bleach” ü  Tissues ü  Small bottle of hand sanitizer with an alcoholic content no less than 60%

Reference

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html
[2] Zhang S, Diao M Y, Yu W, et al. Estimation of the reproductive number of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the probable outbreak size on the Diamond Princess cruise ship: A data-driven analysis[J]. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2020.

Writing: Jingyi Xi, Helen Shih; Translation: Chaoyu Xie; Artwork: Henry Yuanheng Hu

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