Is it safe to travel? Las Vegas experts share the questions you should be asking

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — As many casinos opened their doors once again on Thursday, we wanted to know, is it safe to travel again?

We went straight to the experts. Dr. Thomas Hunt, the chair of Family Medicine at Roseman University said the question really should be do you *need* to travel?

"How important is the trip, you know? Is this really something that you need to do now, or maybe you can put it off for a few more months until we have a better sense," said Dr. Hunt.

"Personally, how big of a risk is it for you? If you're a young, healthy person with no risk factors, I'm not really so worried for you as maybe somebody who is 65, who has diabetes or someone who is much higher risk. So I think people have to take a personal assessment of what they're risks are."

He also said, "Who are you visiting? I recently had a fellow physician who said, 'I have vacation coming up. I really need to get away. I have some family members I haven't seen in a long time.'

"But as she reflected, she realized those family members were older or had chronic health conditions, and maybe traipsing throughout the country and spending time with them, [that] may be putting them at risk. So she put off her time traveling."

"I think the final thing is, what if you get sick? How's that going to impact you? Are you going to a state where you need to quarantine for two weeks when you come back? These are some of the questions people really need to think about before they say, 'Hey, I am buying a ticket and going to Kalamazoo.'"

Dr. Hunt said traveling by car will be safer because you can control the variables by bringing your own supplies for safety, like lots of hand sanitizer.

He also said, contrary to popular belief, according to the research he's read, airplane air has been shown to be safe. It's the surfaces you need to wipe down if you fly.

Dr. Hunt said, bottom line, "everyone will have to assess their own personal risk and their own personal desires to make their choices. I don't think one size fits all."

Finally, check with your employer. Dr. Hunt said many companies have instituted 14-day policies where you might not be able to return to work after traveling.