Eleanor HooverThis Friday, University of Mississippi students will be going on their first spring break since March 2020.
After two years of uncertainty, students, particularly seniors, are eager to enjoy some time off. However, they face unique challenges of traveling during a pandemic, especially for those traveling outside the country.
In December 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began requiring “a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than one day before travel” for all travelers above the age of two entering the U.S. from a foreign country.
Senior integrated marketing communications major Katie Reed is traveling to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Saturday. Because she is fully vaccinated and boosted, she is not too concerned about providing a negative test upon her return. If she tests positive before her departure from the Dominican Republic, Reed would not be able to re-enter the U.S. until she completes a five-to-10-day quarantine in the hotel and provides a negative result.
“Most of my concerns are with getting stuck in a foreign country and not having a reliable source of information or a way to return to the U.S. We have not received any information from the resort or our travel agent on what will be done if any of us test positive,” Reed said.
For travelers like Reed who are staying in hotels, there is an added element of fear of having to pay for extra nights quarantining in the hotel.
“I know the resort and its management have been dealing with the pandemic for at least a year and have protocols in place, but it is still a little nerve-wracking that I may get stuck in the Dominican,” Reed said.
Senior marketing major Ainsley Priakos and senior psychology major Kennedy Orban do not share those concerns, as they are traveling to Priakos’ own home in Tulum, Mexico.
Orban has had travels interrupted before due to a positive test and is wary of having the same experience again.
“Considering my past experiences testing positive with COVID-19 before traveling, I am going to be especially careful, even though I am fully vaccinated,” Orban said.
Priakos shared similar sentiments but is worried about not getting back to Oxford in time for the start of school should she test positive.
“I’m not too concerned about getting stuck because we have a house to go back to and don’t have to worry about re-booking a hotel,” Priakos said. “I’m more concerned about the fact that we leave on Saturday and if we were to test positive, we wouldn’t make it back for class on Monday.”
While the university will not require any proof of a negative COVID-19 test after the break, some universities are taking measures to ensure a safe return. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will require “one negative on-campus test result” before March 25, the end of the week after their spring break.
Last week, the University of Mississippi transitioned to optional masking in all areas of campus except on transportation networks and in healthcare settings. The university is not requiring students or faculty to be tested after the break.
Senior psychology major Kathleen Grennan is going on a Carnival Cruise from Florida to the Bahamas, but because she is not traveling by air does not need to provide a negative COVID-19 test at the end of the trip. However, that information was not explicit to her.
“I called the cruise line to confirm all the details on COVID-19 restrictions and they never really said anything about testing to get off the ship, but it’s not listed anywhere,” Grennan said. “Honestly, most of the instructions were pretty vague.”
Grennan did confirm with the cruise line that because she is fully vaccinated she does not need to provide proof of a negative test to enter the ship.
While COVID-19 travel measures are playing a large role in the logistics of travel, seniors are taking advantage of their last undergraduate spring break. Reed, Priakos, Orban and Grennan all said they were keen on taking the risk of traveling internationally this year in part to make up for lost time.
“This feels like a last hooray and something we can look back on and smile about,” Orban said. “We were going to go on a trip regardless of the circumstances.”
