Is it safe to stay at a vacation rental or hotel? - WRAL.com

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By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, Go Ask Mom editor

After months of sitting cooped up in our homes, many of us are looking for a little bit of escape — a long weekend at the mountains or a week at the beach.

Plenty of families have been finding the time and resources to book that getaway this summer. But, during this ongoing pandemic, others among us are leery of the travel and staying in a hotel or vacation rental. Is it safe to stay in a condo at the beach or a hotel in the mountains? Do we need to clean it before we move in for our stay? Should we worry about the air that we're breathing in where we're staying?

I checked in with Emily Sickbert-Bennett, director of infection prevention for UNC Medical Center, for some answers.

Is it safe to stay in a vacation rental or hotel during the OOVID-19 pandemic?

"The first thing I usually tell people is that coronavirus is one of our easiest to kill germs that we work with," said Sickbert-Bennett, an infectious disease epidemiologist by training.

It's much easier to kill than norovirus, for example, the virus notoriously found on cruise ships and elsewhere, which can cause severe nausea and vomiting for 24 to 48 hours.

It's also important to consider the route by which we can get infected with the coronavirus.

"It's transmitted by droplets that go from an infected person to another within some close distance," she said. It's possible, but much less likely, to become infected by touching a surface that someone coughed on.

So, while you're in that beach house or hotel in the mountains with only your family members who are not sick with COVID-19, several events will have to fall into place to become sick.

1. An individual who was in the space before you or the housekeeper who cleaned it will need to have COVID-19.

2. That person will have to have coughed or sneezed on a surface in the space.

3. You or your family member will have to then touch that exact spot and then wipe their hands on their face.

"Each step of that, you have to think about the likelihood," she said. How likely is it that somebody was sick? How likely did they contaminate a surface? How likely is it that you or your family member will touch that exact spot hours later and then touch your face with your unwashed hands?

"From my perspective, that's a pretty unlikely scenario," she said. "And what we know from the survival of COVID in the environment is that it's not one of the most hardy viruses."

While some research indicates that the virus can linger on a surface for three or four days, that doesn't mean it can make you sick.

"Some of these studies are experimental with very, very high loads in order to really see what the die off curve looks like," she said. Those levels would never exist in real life.

Other studies consider genetic evidence of the virus. "It's looking for genetic material, which we know can be bits and pieces of the virus that can stick around for a long, long time, but it doesn't represent intact virus that is infectious and can transmit," she said.

Do I need to clean the rental or hotel room before we move in?

It depends. If you have a toddler who loves to lick everything, including the edges of the coffee table, "it's probably never a terrible idea to bring your wipes and wipe down the things that you know the toddler is going to mouth in the environment," Sickbert-Bennett said. She recommended this step even before the pandemic.

Wiping down other places where your hands would naturally touch your face is another good idea, she said. That might include the kitchen where you're preparing food. She suggests wiping down counters and running dishes through the dishwasher to ensure they're clean. The bathroom is another spot that could use a wipe down before you use it as that's a space where your hands may touch your face as you apply makeup or brush your teeth.

Do I need to be worried about the air inside the hotel room or vacation rental?

"One thing that would never be a bad idea is opening windows, airing it out, getting fresh air in. That would be easy to do," Sickbert-Bennett said. "It is unlikely to be suspended in air for hours in between when one family is leaving and the next one is coming."

She I be worried about the bedding?

Even before the pandemic, Sickbert-Bennett was mindful of bedding at vacation rentals or hotels.

"Anything that is laundered regularly is fine," she said. "But if there is a more decorative cover or decorative pillows that probably haven't been washed, as a general practice, I fold them and put them in the closet."

What's the most likely way to get infected with the coronavirus while traveling?

Anywhere we come into contact with others can be an opportunity for the virus to spread. But in most places while we're traveling, such as public restrooms, we should be wearing a mask.

The most likely scenario, Sickbert-Bennett said, would be inside a crowded restaurant where you can't wear a mask while you're eating. Curbside pickup, outdoor seating or cooking your own meals in your rental are safer options.

As we make our travel plans, Sickbert-Bennett has two primary pieces of advice:

1. If anybody in your family is not feeling well, stay home. You don't want to be away from your own doctor if you need medical care. You also don't want to be responsible for spreading the virus to others.

2. Hand hygiene is critical. "It's really important to help your kids have good habits and to role model good habits of hand hygiene before eating, after going to the bathroom and when you get in from running errands," she said.

As families make their own decisions, Sickbert-Bennett said it's important to weigh the risks and the benefits. She isn't a medical doctor, so doesn't feel professionally qualified to talk about the benefits to our mental health that may come from some time away, but as somebody who has lived through the past few months, she knows it can be helpful.

"It’s my professional duty to always give infection prevention-related guidance and advice," she said. "But it has definitely impressed on me that we do have to take into account more than just the risk of contracting this specific disease. There are other health effects, physical and mental, that can certainly be harmful without it. A simple thing like having a vacation to look forward to can really bring families a lot of joy, and I think it is important to think about how your family can do that in a safe manner if that is something that's important to your family."

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