COVID-19

We want to complete our gap year without contracting or spreading Covid-19. I am writing this in March, 2022. Perhaps our feelings on this will change as the western world seems to want to put COVID behind us, but for now, this is still our goal. We want to stay well, keep our travel logistics uncomplicated, and respect the people of the countries we visit.

We have taken a number of steps to meet this goal:

1. We wear N95 (or similar) masks indoors (in public). In Thailand masks are required everywhere, so we have taken to wearing “bluies” (medical masks) outside sometimes. If it is crowded we wear our respirator masks outside too.
2. We have chosen countries to visit based on Covid-19 case numbers, curve trajectories, vaccine coverage and what public health measures countries have in place. For example, we like the indoor mask mandates. At the beginning of the trip we appreciated the vaccine passports, but those seem less important now that we see that vaccinated people can still transmit the virus.
3. We keep a stock of rapid tests and use them when anyone has a symptom or for peace of mind.
4. We rented an EV for the first 3 months of our trip to avoid using public transit (and because this is economical with a party of 5.) In Thailand we have traveled from town to town via private shuttle for the same reasons.
5. We started our trip with 2 doses of vaccine for those of us ages 12 and up, and zero doses for the youngest 2. Long story (!), but we are now all boosted and the under 12s have received their first Pfizer doses. 🇨🇦🇫🇷🇹🇭💉
6. We eat at outdoor restaurants or in our living spaces. If a restaurant is busy, we skip it.
7. We avoid crowds in general, especially unmasked, but there are exceptions! We had a fantastic day at Disneyland. There were way more people there than we anticipated.
8. We don’t socialize very often in person. If we chat with people we try to be masked and/or outdoors. This is not ideal of course, but we have encountered very few other families, so it’s not too tough.