Safe Summer Travel This year’s rules and regulations for your summer vacation By Zlata Faerman
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ast summer COVID-19 restrictions halted many families’ travel plans. Instead of a vacation, many families opted for a staycation, enjoying their backyard or local park more than ever. This year, however, promises to be different. Not only are Americans traveling, they are traveling more than they did 2 years ago. Travelers are staying over longer— booking 8 or more nights while the 2019 average was 6, according to CheapCaribbean’s data. The demand for VRBO vacation homes increased more than 20 percent on Memorial Day Weekend 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. But what does travel for families look like this summer?
Is vaccination required to travel? This year, more than 130 million people in the U.S. will be fully vaccinated and ready to get back to normal summer travel. But is proof of a vaccination enough? Do you also need a negative COVID test? “If you are fully vaccinated, you don’t need a test before or after domestic travel unless required by local, state, or territorial healthy authorities,” according to Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Medicine and associate dean for Public Health and Healthy Policy at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. The same goes for self-quarantining upon return. If you’re headed outside the U.S., it’s best to research the current travel rules for your destination. “Traveling outside the United States is where it gets more complicated,” Dr. Carney says. The U.S. State Department has a helpful website 8
Summer 2021 | nymetroparents.com • siparent.com
