Flying soon? Five ways to stay safe on summer holiday as positive Covid-19 cases rise

As senior HSE officials raise concerns about heightened risks, here are five ways you can mitigate risk and stay safe

Should you start using a mask more often ahead of your summer holidays? Picture: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

While society has made great strides in recent times to manage and reduce the threat posed by the Covid-19 virus, the facts are stark about its lasting presence in recent times.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner's Aoife Moore, HSE senior official Paul Reid said the rise in Covid-19 cases has sparked concern about a new wave of the virus spreading through at-risk sectors of society.

The latest figures reveal that 537 patients are in hospitals around the country with Covid-19 — a threefold increase from the 180 patients in hospital on May 31. Of those currently hospitalised with the virus, 27 people are in intensive care units (ICU). Meanwhile, the test positivity rate has nearly doubled in the last fortnight to stand at just under 30%, up from 16.4% on June 4.

While mooted recommendations for a renewed mask mandate haven't been made official as of yet, caution is always advisable, especially if you're going travelling in the near future. 

Here are five ways to stay safe - and protect vulnerable people in our communities in the process.

Keep an eye on things before you travel

No one wants to be restricted - especially after the last two years - but keeping in mind the circumstances in which the virus has spread before is useful for planning ahead of a big journey. 

Outdoor dining and socialising, sports and exercise, and exploring nature are ideal ways to keep your social life moving while reducing risk of transmission - weather permitting, of course.

Additionally, it might be handy to plan travel to minimise use of closed spaces if possible. While packing into a plane for the flight over or trains between legs of holidays is unavoidable, it's worth looking into ways you can cut out their short-term use - researching walks between destinations instead of using subways, for example.

Wearing an N95 mask

They're certainly very difficult to co-ordinate an outfit around, but if you're masking up in enclosed spaces like public transport, pubs, restaurants or concert venues, experts recommend an N95 mask to stand the best chance of filtering out the vast majority of particles in the air - up to 95%.

While any mask has been shown to be better than none, the degree of protection offered by surgical masks and cloth face coverings varies.

Make sure your vaccines are up to date

If you've not received the full programme of vaccinations, Covid-19 vaccination centres are still open around the country - be sure to speak with your GP if unsure of your own vaccination status, or if you have any questions. 

Be sure to check what the vaccination requirements are (if any) for your destination in advance.

It's also not too late to put full protections in place against the worst of a still-very-contagious virus, if you haven't already.

Keep that sanitiser handy

You can never be too careful, and depending on your own comfort levels in different spaces, having a small bottle of hand-sanitiser or disinfectant wipes for surfaces stashed away in your bag can make all the difference in a pinch.

Plan for emergencies

You're nearly all packed, you've got the itinerary on hand, tickets ready, and your trip might be a few weeks away - but as transmission of the virus increases, it's worth looking at what happens if you get sick in your destination country.  Citizens Information has a good factsheet on what to do in an emergency. 

Also worth investigating, if you're entitled to medical or drug payment scheme cards, is the European Health Insurance Card, which entitles holders to healthcare in another EU or European Economic Area (EEA) state for free, or at a reduced cost.