The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stay fluid, with the current administration just passing a new mandate that requires all businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are either vaccinated or tested once a week.
Regardless of vaccination statuses and testing requirements, maintaining safe and healthy practices while you’re considering traveling is still very important. Here are three ways you can reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission if your employees have to travel:
1. Identify Essential TravelÂ
Many employers have learned just how many business operations can be conducted remotely, but certain activities still need to be done in person.
Be sure to identify which practices are a must in person and which can be done remotely. If a meeting has to be in person, limit how many people from your company attend.
2. Plan Ahead
Sounds easy enough, but planning your trip by your destination’s COVID-19 requirements, such as how many days you have to quarantine and the rules you must follow, will significantly affect your trip.
For example, according to the U.S. Department of State:
- If you are unvaccinated and traveling to Canada you will have to be quarantined for 14 days.
- If you are unvaccinated and traveling to Iceland you will have to be quarantined for 5 days.
- Travelers who are considered to be fully vaccinated are not required to quarantine in Canada or Iceland.
If you’re thinking of traveling for an extended period, having to quarantine in-country may not be an issue depending on your vaccination status, but if you’re traveling for just a few days, you may want to consider rescheduling your trip to a later time or consider coordinating a virtual option.
3. Partner With a Trusted Medical TeamÂ
If travel is a must for your company, having a medical response team on-call can not only be helpful, it can be lifesaving if you run into a serious situation. When your work requires travel during the pandemic, you need a comprehensive, compliance-driven global travel assistance plan to ensure the safety of your company’s employees.
For instance:
- What if an employee gets sick while traveling and needs to be referred to a vetted hospital as a precaution?
- Then, what if this employee has COVID and their symptoms are so severe that they need to be evacuated?
Our corporate medical assistance package was designed by a team of expats and international security experts and is guided by our industry-leading risk management intelligence to assess and manage threats, like the ongoing pandemic, to travelers worldwide.
Our corporate medical assistance can be a massive advantage if you’re traveling during the pandemic, as it includes:
- Medical Resource Referral and Case Management
- Evacuation Coordination
- Expense Guarantees
- Translation Services and Emergency Message Transmission
With COVID numbers swelling in many countries, having a ready-to-respond medical team can put your mind at ease.
What COVID-19 Services Do You Need to Travel Safely?
If you’re required to travel during the pandemic or need a testing or vaccination program, we’re ready to keep your employees safe and healthy from the ongoing pandemic at home or abroad.
