My sympathy. I, too, am a traveling soul who is restless. I am scheduled to fly to Italy with a group of old friends in October so we are on the same risk-evaluation path. The suggestions I have are not based on intuition so I would welcome anyone's perceptions/hunches as well.
First, traveling is risky, as you know. I don't know how long your flight will be but, so far, this is my plan for our group some of which you have already considered.
1. Wear N95 masks and also eye protection like clear protective lens. Masks must fit well; look for NIOSH certified. I think the accordion ones fit better and are easier to wear for a long time.
2. Most passengers will remove their masks to eat or drink. Try not to do that. We will try using straws to shove under masks and some sort of protein powder to mix into a drink. Do not remove your mask in any restroom.
3. If you can, sit together on the plane to avoid close contact with strangers.
3. Avoid indoor dining and wear masks in any public setting.
It is easy to be outside in HI; getting there safely is the challenge.
Finally, if anyone in your group gets COVID (unlikely to have symptoms until you are home), try to get to an Oahu medical center rather than be treated on Hawaii. I don't know how one would do that, but that is my suggestion. There is also COVID specific insurance, if you are interested.
Good luck.
@laura-f Oh damn. It is impossible to copy and paste because it's interactive. It is so cool though and I just wish you could see it. They show how the air filtering system on single aisle commercial jets work. Then they show what happens when someone with Covid sneezes behind their mask. The purple in the photos are the aisles affected by two different covid-infected people sneezing behind masks.
Even this is helpful. We are 4 people, so we can take up 2 rows one behind the other, and then looks like not terrible if you are at least 3 rows away from the sneeze. I have one real medical grade N95 that I've been saving, and I can add a plastic face shield over that.
I feel a little better.
Any intuition popping up?
@laura-f At the airport, stay some distance from those eating places and bars. When lining up, I force people to socially distance from me by dragging my suitcase behind me. If you can breathe, then double mask. The top mask can help to seal the one underneath. I had to travel Bos to Tampa round trip at the beginning of February 2020. No one was wearing a mask except me. But I just knew Covid was around. When I got into my seat, I pulled my coat over my head and napped the entire trip. I was wearing a mask and in my own little tent. No one was vaxed back then, so now that you are vaxed, you will likely be okay if you are very cautious.
@laura-f Aw, I can only tell you about our recent travel experiences. My husband and I made a trip to Santa Barbara in May and wore KN95 masks in the airports and on planes. It was very worrisome that everyone takes off their masks at the same time to eat and drink. Seriously, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of masks? However, we traveled safely in May.
Now there’s the delta variant and we just cancelled our reservations in Vancouver Island, British Columbia for next month. Even though the border between the U.S. and Canada opens shortly, we became concerned about leaving the country while the pandemic rages on. Our friends had booked a trip to Ireland and Denmark, then Ireland was listed by the CDC and the State Department as one of 16 countries to avoid because of Covid infections. So they had to cancel their trip.
We have neighbors who are in Hawaii right now and having a great time. I’m hoping we are through the worst of it by October, Laura. That’s the only premonition I have. I’ve read that the delta variant raged throughout India and then suddenly dropped. I’m not sure the scientists have figured that out.
Wishing you the best, my friend. I know how important travel is to you and I miss it too.
I went on a plane in May and again nearly 2 weeks ago. They were very short flights of about 1.25 hours. My experience was vastly different each time. In May there were few flying and the airport was empty. This most recent time I found myself in an extremely busy airport and totally booked plane. My gate and the 2 gates beside mine were all boarding at the same time and people were on top of each other. Most wore masks as they were supposed to but some had them under their nose. I felt mostly fine on the May flight with only some people on it and a nearly empty airport. I was uncomfortable with the crowded flight. I would not want a repeat experience of flight number 2 even though the people were pretty calm and kind. Just way too many people.
A month ago we drove to Colorado and had a fantastic trip staying in my parents condo. I felt really good about that experience. My kids flew there to meet up with my husband and I and they had no problems flying, well except their planes were each delayed.
Now that I personally know a good friend who has a husband dealing with a serious breakthrough case of Covid I am back again to being very cautious.
I think driving would be my first choice for travel currently.
Covid is so tricky. I have no idea what next week will look like let alone 2 months. Do we know if planes will be required to keep the mask mandate past September yet?