← Return to Tips: Traveling to Mayo to get medical care safely during COVID-19

Discussion
Comment receiving replies
@mpeters

We are going to Mayo Clinic on Monday and Tuesday. They will greet us at the door, ask screening questions, and give us a mask. But what steps are we taking? I called the motel for reservations. The room we will get has been empty for three days. The person taking our card will have a plastic shield between us. We are bringing our air mattress, pillows, sheet, cotton blanket. We are bringing spray bottle of bleach and gloves for both of us. We will clean all hard surfaces. We have a good refrigerator in our car, so we are bringing our own food, drinks, and utensils. We will bring our own glasses. We are bringing a trash bag for our trash and extra toilet paper. We are going to put our tv clicker in a ziplock bag, We will ask that no one come in our room. I’m more worried about enclosed spaces at Mayo. Although all will be wearing masks, who’s to say someone didn’t cough or sneeze in the elevator? Also, the latest Medscape had an article about fecal transmission. Is it safe to go in their bathrooms? I’m looking forward to hearing from others about their tips.

Jump to this post


Replies to "We are going to Mayo Clinic on Monday and Tuesday. They will greet us at the..."

@mpeters HI - as far as safety in using the restrooms, while they have found evidence of covid-19 in fecal matter, I do not believe there is evidence of fecal transmission - you would have to touch the contaminated site and then your face or mouth. So...use good hygiene practices on your part.
That said, we just made a 1500 mile trip, through not only hotels, but many (questionable) truck stops and rest areas. We each carried a little ziploc baggie with sanitizer wipes into every stop, and wiped down surfaces before using. I finished the wipe down in restrooms by wiping the handle and seat of the commode before using. I also carried paper towels because I personally don't think hand dryers are very sanitary.
We (usually) travel extensively, spending many nights in hotels every year, and have always used our own sanitizers on surfaces upon entering. In addition we carry a small bottle of dish detergent to wash things and our own roll of paper towels, this time I added my own towel on which to set them to dry. I have never worried about using the plastic-wrapped glasses, the tissues or tp in hotel rooms and still don't. We do bring our own pillows, but our experience on this trip was that hotels are really working to keep everything clean and everyone safe. May I ask why you are bringing an air mattress?
If you choose to wear gloves, please remember that once worn they are biowaste and removed and need to be disposed of correctly or you risk contaminating yourself and others.
Safe travels!
Sue