Safety measures for Trekking During COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many families and groups of friends weren’t able to go on trekking and hiking or didn’t go on road trips. The COVID-19 epidemic brought many changes in the tourism, trekking, and hiking sector.
As a trekking community, our major priority has always been to ensure the healthcare, safety, and security of our Nomads, on-ground personnel, and local residents.
We are doing everything that we can to assure that all the Government regulations are followed wherever they are necessary.
Taking that into consideration, we’ve discussed some measures to protect your safety. Here are the COVID-19 safety precautions for Trekkers/Hikers:
Before you go on Trekking/Hiking during COVID, make sure you follow all the safety guidelines.
Contents
Below are a checklist to ensure that you are safe to go outside for trekking with your family during COVID-19
1: For at least 1-2 weeks before your journey starts, stay away from busy areas and avoid social events.
2: If you leave the house, put on a face mask (recommended surgical mask).
3: Every day, consume at least two glasses of turmeric-infused hot water.
4: Whenever you leave your residence and when you return back home, wash or sanitize your hands nicely.
5: Avoid using public transportation. This also applies to taxis.
6: As much as possible, avoid dining at unknown places. Go to hygienic restaurants and avoid unhygienic places.
Follow these COVID-19 Safety Protocols before going on trekking.
1: Only asymptomatic travelers will be permitted to enter.
2: Those with a temperature exceeding 37.5 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) and flu-like symptoms are not allowed to travel.
3: Travelers with no foreign travel history will indeed be permitted two weeks before departure (they will only be applicable until restricted by the government authorities).
4: Nomads under the age of ten and those beyond the age of 60 would be denied.
5: All travelers will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the entry point, including the body temperature (by using no-contact type thermometers/thermal guns), coughing, fever, and other symptoms.
6: If you flew to the main city, keep your face shield and face mask on and use it to fly till you reach the base camp instead of throwing it away once you reach it.
7: Before boarding, all travelers will be instructed on the safety precautions that need to be taken in place.
8: When traveling, travelers should provide basic personally identifiable information such as their name, phone number, government ID number, and other essential details. Traveler’s approval to share their personal information with administration/health authorities will be sought as and when necessary for contact tracing purposes.
9: Before crossing any state boundary, ensure that you have the required permissions or forms. (Each state government provides a portal for entering interstate travel information.)
10: Travelers must bring their personal masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, and other necessities.
11: We strongly advise you to travel in your own vehicle during a pandemic. Suppose you cannot organize your own transportation, then book a family car from the travelers for a few days.
12: Prior to boarding, the Trekkers vehicles would be properly cleaned. The driver who will be accompanying or you will also adhere to the necessary safety procedures.
Follow these On-Trek Safety Instructions during COVID-19
1: You must check your oxygen level thrice a day, and also when you feel like it.
2: If you are going with a trekking group then you must stay with another person, which means two people in every tent.
3: Every person in your team must wear a mask, whether a cook, instructor or trek leader.
4: To avoid chaos, a single person or the trek team leader will be serving meals to all the participants while wearing a mask.
5: It would be best if you bring your own cutlery and food items. Wash your own cutlery by yourself.
6: In COVID-19, you must carry your own medical kit, which contains some basic items like oximeters, medicines, masks, etc. If someone has breathing problems, they can also bring an oxygen cylinder, or please don’t go further.
As a Trek Leader, you must carry a COVID-19 Kit with you
Every Trek Leader must have these safety gears in a COVID-19 Kit:
- Pulse Oximeter
- Infrared Thermometer Gun
- Surgical mask (or any mask)
- Face Shield
- Personal Gloves
- Sanitizer
- Oxygen Cylinder if someone is having breathing issues.
