Staycationing with Seniors Under the New Norm
While most seniors enjoy their retirement years by traveling to places they have not been to, the pandemic has disrupted the travel plans they made for 2020.
In light of the ongoing health crisis, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had given early warnings to older people over increased risks of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. To highlight the warning, the CDC reported early statistics showing that 8 out of 10 COVID-19-related fatalities in the U.S. were adults aged 65 years and older.
Still, inasmuch as travel is important in keeping seniors physically and mentally active, the CDC recommends that when deciding to bring a senior family member along for a staycation, make sure the senior is healthy enough to travel.
While there are seniors whom their respective doctor would give approval as being fit to travel, older people with chronic illnesses affecting their heart, lungs, or kidneys are not likely to be cleared by their doctors, if for a long distance travel. The latter is the most vulnerable group of older adults as their impaired health condition poses as greater risk for complications if in case their bodies have to battle the coronavirus infection
The CDC Gives Advice About Ensuring Safe Travel Plans by Staying Informed
According to the CDC, the first step when making travel plans, especially if a senior will be coming along, is to stay informed. Every member of the family.should keep abreast of reports on safety conditions for domestic travel. As it is, U.S. citizens looking to travel abroad could be met with disappointment, as most countries allow entry only to travelers coming from low-risk countries; of which the U.S. is obviously not.
Aside from checking out the travel places, be in the know of health advisories published by the U.S. State Department website. Health advisories let people know if a particular state is high-risk as far as COVID-19 is concerned, which makes it unsafe for nonessential interstate travels. While some jurisdictions may allow entry to local vacationers, most have airport and border testing requirements and quarantine restrictions, as well as state regulations on who to allow, as well as when and where visitors would be allowed to do some sightseeing.
Even as the travel plan goes through and the family has already embarked on their journey toward their staycation destination, stay safe by constantly checking out the latest developments in travel and safety advisories.
Moreover, the CDC gives advice for everyone to take extra precautionary measures to ensure that seniors are shielded against possible infection. Every family member should faithfully practice preventive actions, such as wearing a face mask, hand washing and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces.
One of the benefits of traveling is giving senior members the opportunities to renew ties with relatives and friends from long ago. Yet keep in mind that every family also wants to keep their seniors safe and protected against possible infection, by minimizing interaction with, and by safely distancing from other people. As much as possible, interact only with people who wear protective face masks and/or shields, which also denotes avoiding those who don’t.
Seniors who are robust enough to stay up on their feet for longer periods experience the most enjoyment during travel. Yet this does not mean that older people who are in good health but have reduced physical capability, should be left behind. Consider providing them with an electric wheelchair as there are now models that come with features specifically for travel purposes.
Checkout the best Gogrit top electric Wheelchairs selections, where the array includes brands that offer sundry seating options such as tilt, recline or stand, as well as having high travel range. Nowadays, there are brands that have improved portability by not being too heavy, and also foldable to a certain extent. Other electric wheelchair brands offer quick and easy disassembling and reassembling features as a way to reduce the space occupied by the contraption inside travel vehicles.