Should I still go camping?

Right now a lot of RVers are listening to the government’s recommendations of social distancing and wondering if they could take the RV out and do some social distancing in a campground. The big question: should I still go camping? The short answer is, probably not. But why not? 

First of all many of the people asking this question come from larger population centers. After all  few people want to move from the country to the city for a nice camping getaway. I’m one of those that would like this, though. But I’m weird.

In a larger population center there is far more risk of coming into contact with someone who has been exposed to the COVID-19 or Coronavirus than there would be in a smaller region simply because there are more people. On the way to your journey you may interact with other people but also more chances for exposure if you’re going to stock up on supplies like food or propane or fuel your vehicle. 

While these are normal things you’d do anyway, other than the propane perhaps, they’re still exposure risks. If you go to a somewhat rural area to shelter in your RV then you’re bringing all these exposure risks along with you. 

Most smaller communities are generally underserved medically. Small regional hospitals are often run at the breaking point as it is. Add the fact that locals may be getting infected with Coronavirus to the very likely possibility that small town first responders could also be infected and you’ve got the chance that these smaller communities suffer far greater death tolls by percentage than larger communities. 

Remember hospitals and medical centers that are already at the breaking point aren’t going to do well when a bunch of additional cases come through the doors and those hospitals then have to decide whom to serve first. If at all. 

And, if you’re in a community with a smaller medical facility and you have a more specialized medical event such as a stroke they may not be able to deal with that and would normally ship you to a larger region as a normal course of doing business. But what if all the transport facilities are otherwise occupied and time is of the essence? 

Furthermore, not all insurance coverage is portable. If you happen to get sick on the road does your insurance cover you for an extended hospital stay out of area? 

We spoke with a few people at rural hospitals including one who runs a rural hospital and a nurse in a medium-sized city who recently contracted the Corona virus. Both advised everyone to stay in their main homes. 

The US State Department’s travel ban is at its highest level - 4. There is some chance that, if you leave your area and stricter travel restrictions are put into place while you’re away, you may have difficulty getting back. For example, the county that I live is in limiting travel into the county by people from outside the area. While I can get back in, if you need to travel through my county to get to yours, you may be stuck. 

A County’s health officer actually has a great deal of power during these times. They can enforce far stricter limitations than even federal limitations so ours has closed all vacation rentals, hotels and campgrounds public and private. It is perfectly within his jurisdiction to do so.

Our county has forced the closure of all campgrounds, period. This means public and private campgrounds so if you’re bringing an RV into the county, you’ll have nowhere to camp. In fact, we had reservations at a local campground that we frequent within our own county, and the owner had to cancel those reservations due to the County health officer’s mandate. 

Non essential businesses including those that service RVs such as dump stations and the like are also closed and, last week, a non-essential business was fined $500 for remaining open. Yikes. While our county is very, very proactive this is something others are looking to do as well if things don’t take a turn for the better. 

If you do need supplies or medications and you’re on the road, there is a very real possibility that the stores where you’re visiting may be sold out. While larger populations are set up for high demand in grocery stores and such, many smaller communities don’t have the number of deliveries available so your trip to the grocery store takes things that the locals would be buying. 

In normal circumstances this business is very welcome but during these times of some people hoarding it’s not as welcome. 

According to a New York Times article, the more people you come in contact with while traveling, the higher the risk of getting infected with the virus, said Dr. David Abramson, a clinical associate professor at New York University’s School of Global Public Health and the director of the research program Population Impact, Recovery, and Resilience (PiR2).

“You want to be in a situation where you are least likely to mix with others,” Dr. Abramson said.

We all miss our RVs and enjoying the beauty in this country. But until this virus is better able to be contained or conquered, right now might be a good time to limit your travel to that RV beckoning you from the driveway. 

Here is information on the Center for Disease Control’s travel ban.