If you need to travel, what's the safest way to get to your destination these days? First of all, think hard about whether your trip is too important to put on hold, as the federal government advises that travel should still be limited to circumstances in which it's absolutely necessary. And people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for COVID-19, should avoid it as much as possible.
The decision to fly or drive, experts say, requires you to weigh your own circumstances. Driving can give you a feeling of greater control over your surroundings, but then there's the risk of something unforeseen like car trouble or an accident.
Flying involves exposure to many people in the airport and plane, but the good news is, once you board, air in planes is very thoroughly filtered.
Mounting evidence suggests the coronavirus is more common and less deadly than it first appeared.
The evidence comes from tests that detect antibodies to the coronavirus in a person's blood. Scientists are finding large numbers of people in the U.S. who were infected but never became seriously ill. And when these mild infections are included in coronavirus statistics, the virus appears less dangerous.
"The current best estimates for the infection fatality risk are between 0.5% and 1%," says Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
That's in contrast with earlier estimates of death rates of 5% or more. But even with a fatality rate less than 1%, that makes the coronavirus "many times more deadly than seasonal influenza," Rivers says.
Of all the hardships imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, among the most poignant is the reshaping of relationships between children and the grandparents who love them. More than 70 million people are grandparents in the U.S, and the pandemic has meant self-imposed exile for many.
Now as some states are easing restrictions, the risks posed by gathering in person haven't changed for grandparents, says Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, a professor of medicine at Stanford University. The risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 remains much higher for older people, and children can easily spread the disease.
"It's hard to know if a child has been exposed or whether they have an asymptomatic infection," Kuppalli says. "I would definitely recommend staying away or definitely continuing to wear masks and perform good hand hygiene."
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