Traveling safety tips in this corona pandemic

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let's talk about how we can not get the coronavirus while traveling. I'm also going to answer the question. in brief, this virus spreads by all three routes. it spreads by contact, it spreads by respiratory droplets that act like ballistics in it spreads by the airborne route meaning very tiny droplets or aerosols remain suspended in the air which then can be inhaled by someone else. so we know about hand washing or using hand sanitizer. and not touching your face or mask with dirty hands and trying to maintain at least six feet. but is that enough? probably not because catching a respiratory virus such as coronavirus in general especially in an airplane is possible. inhaling the virus in the regular face covering that you wear such as a medical mask or a surgical mask, that's not going to prevent you from inhaling that virus. if it's in the air close to you so recently there is this where three people tested positive on a Delta flight which was about a two-hour flight.

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so how is the virus transmitted we'll never really know for sure because you can't prove one way or another. in this instance if it was spread by means of contact versus respiratory droplets or airborne transmission. but let's talk about some things that we do know. most airlines are requiring passengers to wear masks. in fact, starting today July 20th delta will now require passengers who can't wear a mask because of a health condition to consider staying home and if they insist on flying the passenger must complete a health screening before being allowed to fly. delta will ultimately decide whether the passenger will be allowed to travel without wearing a mask.

now this is sort of a back and forth game right people don't have real medical exemptions from not wearing a mask that's just a cover because they don't want to wear one. so delta is recognizing this and saying well we know how this virus spreads. so if people refuse to wear a mask because of a health condition then we'll have to consult with our doctors to see if they can fly because of their health condition. so this is delta's roundabout way of saying wear the mask or don't fly and that's the right thing to do. because you're risking other people's lives by not wearing one.

some airlines are also taking other measures to minimize person-to-person interaction such as not serving alcoholic beverages or skipping snacks altogether. most commercial flights these days have very clean cabin air airplanes accomplish this. by the way they have their air intake system set up essentially. they have compressed air passing through the jet engines with its temperature being super hot like 250 degrees celsius hot or  482 degrees Fahrenheit hot. I'm feeling hot I love that song, especially at weddings and cruise ships. that hot air is then cooled and put 450 pounds per square inch to be exact so between the initial hot temperatures and the high pressure that makes the air in the cabin very sterile as bacteria and viruses become destroyed in that process.

before the mid-1980s planes would actually use 100 fresh air for the cabin but to save money they redesigned the ventilation systems. so that it's 50% fresh air and 50% recirculated air in the cabin. now would it be better to have   100 fresh air technically yeah but because of the hot temperatures and high pressures the subsequent cabin air is still very clean and the cabin air is exchanged every three to four minutes which is actually better than offices and homes? which is typically every five to twelve minutes. also with the newer generations of airplanes, they have high-efficiency particulate air filters meaning HEPA filters. these filter out the recirculated air they can fish out particles as small as 0.3 microns. 

which is what an n95 respirator mask can do as well as an elastomeric mask. now some might say well the virus is only about 0.1 microns in diameter or 100 nanometers and this is true but most of the virus in the air is going to exist within respiratory droplets so the bottom line is if the virus is in the air most of it about 95 of it will be filtered out with these HEPA filters on the plane and the same thing goes for respirator masks and for the virus that remains in the air that does not exist within a respiratory droplet that floats in the air we still don't know if that virus is able to maintain infectivity because it may be dried out and inactivated in the process so let's take a look at this scenario to let's say there's a passenger who is infected with coronavirus they probably don't even have symptoms hopefully they're wearing a mask. which they should be wearing for this specific reason. because whether they have symptoms or not they're going to expel that virus. especially if they call for sneeze so that person is going to expel that virus into a moist cloud that lingers in the air. which will be readily available for their neighbors to inhale when someone is expelling

respiratory droplets the ones that are at least 5 to 10 microns in size those are the ones that are going to act like ballistics and fall within 6 to 12 feet of them if they are not wearing a mask the respiratory droplets expel that are less than 5 microns these are the ones that will stay suspended in the air much like a fart and don't you hate it when someone lets one rip on the plane though what do you hold your breath you look around for likely suspects but there's never a guilty verdict and they're usually a repeat offender right and you just pray you'll be landing soon but getting back to the aerosols that are expelled from the mouth if someone is wearing a mask it will drastically reduce the size of that moist cloud it will reduce the size that that cloud can travel but it won't totally prevent the virus from being airborne so if no one is sitting close to you or if someone is sitting close to you but doesn't have the virus then no worries. but of course, people are going to be close to you on the plane and it's impossible to know who has the virus and if that virus is in the air close to you you're going to breed that in unless you do tip number one which is you wear an n95 respirator mask or an elastomeric respirator both of these filter out at least 95 percent of airborne particles that are as small as 0.3  microns. right now the cdc recommends the public to not purchase and wear these n95 respirator masks for one because they need to be reserved for healthcare workers which i don't understand   how there can be a limited supply this deep into a pandemic but i digress and by the way amazon will not sell them right now the other reasons why it's generally advised for the   public not to wear them well n95 respirators are tight fitting and people who wear them   have to be test fitted meaning the mask is on properly so that it can effectively do its job   which also means facial hairstyles are limited because of the potential to disrupt the tight fit   basically you can't have any facial hair outside of the zone where the n95 respirator is going to   go in the face so here it is the n95 which you probably cannot buy and you probably will not   wear on the plane and i'll get to the alternative in a second but here's the n95 and this is a wire   it's a hard wire where you bend it around your nose so it basically secures a tight fit there   and not supposed to have facial hair so when i go back to work i can't even have this i'm gonna have   to shave but essentially right here it's going to make a tight fit around here and the proper way to   go about this is to actually get a test fit where they spray a chemical so that they can see if you   smell the chemical if you can smell it then it's not a good fit so that's how we determine that   also these masks are uncomfortable and it's not practical to wear them for more than a few hours   however if there are enough of these to go around for the public i don't see why they   can't be recommended for certain situations like when you're in an enclosed space with other people   such as a subway train or in an elevator or on an airplane there's also the issue   of keeping the masks sterile so they can actually be re-sterilized by baking them in an oven set at   160 degrees for 30 minutes i'm not joking that's really the best and the most practical way to   re-sterilize them is 160 degree dry heat for 30 minutes alternatively if you happen to have seven   of these masks laying around you can wear one new one each day of the week and for the ones that   you're not using keep them in a dry isolated place this way the viruses and bacteria will just die   off so for now the cdc says the public should not buy them and should not wear them but what you can   do is get yourself an elastomeric respirator this is a reusable device with exchangeable cartridge   filters like an n95 respirator it also filters out at least 95 percent of airborne particles   as small as 0.3 microns it fits tight against the user's face and it's more comfortable than   an n95 and before reusing this mask all of its surfaces need to be wiped down with a disinfectant   so although both of these are not perfect they are very effective at preventing inhaling the virus   now if i were to buy one i'd probably go with this one the 3m 7503 large silicone ultimate   7500 series as it gets great reviews on amazon and i'll put a link to that in the description below   all right tip number two i definitely recommend eye goggles that prevent air from blowing into   your eyes because that's another way for the virus to infect you you might be able to see   here on the side the air really can't get in so not going to get to your eyes or at least   it's very low likelihood and they're very cheap these are my cheap motorcycle goggles i have here   and i also have the cheap sunglasses version here just in case it's very sunny and bright   on the plane like when they don't pull the window shade down and all that sun gets in   but anyway you can get these on amazon as well and i'll put a link to them below so all right now on to tip number three those overhead jets on the plane probably gonna   want to turn those on why because stagnant air is the enemy here stagnant air makes it easier for   the virus to linger in the air not only that but those overhead jets actually will push that air   downwards with that jet so if the virus is in that air essentially it's going to be pushed toward   the floor making you less likely to infect you tip number four avoid people impossible you say   yes but you can get the super early flights or the red-eye flights and consider getting a business   class c if you can or better yet a private jet tip number five avoid long flights because the   longer the flight the more potential exposure what makes someone more likely to inhale the virus is   really a combination of factors now one of those factors is the amount of time you spend in close   contact with someone who has the virus this is why people who live in the same household as someone   who has the virus is more likely to get it it's also why healthcare workers are more likely to   get it so keep that in mind when you're booking longer trips alright so tip number six bring the   hand sanitizer with you because you're going to be getting your hands dirty a lot those respiratory   droplets land on everything so anytime you touch something there's a potential to get the virus on   your hands and of course don't touch your face with your hands at least if they're not clean   and this is the same rationale for my final tip number seven which is   bring sanitizing wipes so that you can wipe the tray if you're gonna use the tray   now doing all of these things still does not guarantee that you won't get the virus   but it dramatically improves your chances of not getting it the other nice thing about implementing   these measures trying to look on the bright side here is that they'll prevent inhalation of other   respiratory infectious diseases such as measles tuberculosis and influenza yes influenza is mostly   respiratory droplet transmission but is sometimes transmitted by means of aerosol and then there   are other viruses that cause the common cold such as other coronaviruses rhinoviruses adenoviruses   and human metanema viruses and others as well so is it better to drive instead of to fly   kind of depends if you're by yourself no worries just make sure to maintain the usual precautions   throughout the trip like when you take breaks from driving you're going to want to wear the   mask wash your hands and all that other stuff avoiding handshakes avoiding hugs and kisses she's my sister but the more people in the car the higher the likelihood of   someone spreading the virus if someone does have it so for multiple people in the car   better to wear masks and definitely crack open a window or two so you can have that window   down a few inches and that way if the virus is aerosolized it'll just fly out the window which   is also what you can do when someone lets one rip so which one is better flying or driving it really   depends on a lot of different factors other things you might want to consider is the destination do   they have a quarantine rule there if you do fly there overall i'd say driving is probably better   especially if you're going by yourself but as long as you know the preventative measures that   you can implement you'll minimize your chances of getting the virus whether you're flying or driving   all right that's all i have for this video check out my airborne transmission video   if you haven't seen that one already and i'll see you in the next one you 

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