COVID Testing for Travelers

Are you traveling soon or just returned from a trip? Travelers run an increased risk of contracting COVID-19—which makes COVID testing for travelers extremely important.

Why Do Travelers Need COVID Testing?

Traveling is fun but stressful. You’re around a lot of different people, often crammed into tiny airplane seats, and surrounded by large crowds in airports and amusement parks. You may even be traveling in areas where fewer people are vaccinated or COVID levels are rising.

It’s understandable that under these circumstances, your risks of contracting COVID are increased. It’s also easier to catch any communicable disease when you’re constantly on the go and stressed out. Traveling anywhere is riskier than staying at home behind closed doors, which makes testing for COVID that much more important.

What’s Different About COVID Testing for Travel?

Travelers get the same COVID-19 test as do homebodies. The difference is that travelers often need faster results and more documentation.

For fast results, Valley Medical’s PCR COVID test is the best option. Results are available the same day, so you can get tested a day or two before you fly and have the results in-hand.

Certain destinations require PCR COVID testing, and Valley Medical’s testing meets these requirements. If you are traveling to a destination which requires a negative COVID-19 test prior to entry, Valley Medical Laboratory is a CLIA-certified lab and is authorized to provide COVID testing to meet most foreign and domestic travel requirements. (As always, please check with your travel destination or airline for their specific testing requirements.)

Because we’re familiar with the needs of international travelers, we can ensure that your passport number appears on your COVID test results. When registering for your test, make sure you enter your passport number as you want it to appear.

Valley Medical also provides any required signatures and/or stamps for specific travel forms, documents, and on results. Please provide the necessary paperwork when you take your test and we'll sign and stamp the forms when your results are ready.

COVID Risks for Business Travelers

Business travelers can be at increased risk for contracting COVID-19. COVID can spread when flying on confined plane flights and at crowded business functions. The risk is even higher if you’re at a conference or convention with hundreds or thousands of strangers from across the country or around the globe, any of whom can spread the virus from their home locations.

COVID Risks on Vacation

Vacation travel can also be risky. Aside from the risks of confined plane flights, comingling with the huge crowds at theme parks and other attractions could bring you into contact with COVID carriers from hundreds or thousands of miles away. Given the generally unhygienic nature of some children, these places are even riskier than you might think.

Where Can Travelers Get Fast and Accurate COVID Testing?

Valley Medical and Wellness offers quick and easy PCR COVID testing for travelers at our Minneapolis, Burnsville, and Woodbury locations. We offer convenient nasal swab testing in the comfort of your own car. Make an appointment today to get tested and receive same-day results.

How to Avoid COVID When Traveling

There is no 100% guaranteed way to avoid COVID, whether traveling or at home. However, there are some steps that travelers can take to reduce the risk of catching COVID when they’re away from home. These steps include:

• Get vaccinated and stay boosted (and carry your vaccination card with you)
• Wear a mask when flying or taking public transportation
• If possible, use private transportation
• Wear a mask when indoors or among large crowds
• Practice good hygiene wherever you go—wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently
• Avoid exposure to other travelers who exhibit COVID-like symptoms (coughing, sneezing, etc.)
• Stay aware of COVID conditions where you’re traveling via follow the CDC’s advice for safe travel

Finally, if you yourself feel sick or exhibit COVID-like symptoms, don’t expose others. Get tested for COVID and stay in your room until you feel better.

Feeling Sick? Think You’ve Been Exposed? Schedule a COVID Test Near You Today

If you’ve recently returned from a vacation or business trip and develop a cough, sore throat, or fever, you need to get tested for COVID. Even if you don’t feel sick but have spent time around someone who later tested positive, you should still get tested. Getting a COVID test at Valley Medical is the best way to determine whether you have COVID—and if you, you can arrange a convenient telemedicine appointment to receive the Paxlovid treatment you need.

About Valley Medical and Wellness

Valley Medical and Wellness is a premier chronic pain management and addiction treatment practice with offices in Bemidji, Burnsville, Minneapolis, Rochester, and Woodbury, Minnesota. We strive to improve the quality of life for those suffering from pain and/or addiction through a comprehensive approach focusing on overall wellness, along with progressive and knowledgeable medical treatments. We work closely with our patients and recognize that dealing with pain and/or addiction can impact every aspect of their lives, including their self-worth, physical health, jobs, relationships with friends and family, finances, and mental health.

Valley Medical also offers COVID and flu testing and treatment for people of all ages. Test results are typically available the same day, and we accept all major healthcare insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. COVID and flu testing is available at our Burnsville, Minneapolis, and Woodbury locations. Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve administered tens of thousands of tests to the public, and are proud to be a registered testing center with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Author

Michael Miller Michael Miller is a Business Process Writer at Valley Medical and Wellness. He's an established writer with more than 200 books and thousands of articles published over the past three decades. He writes on a variety of topics, from healthcare to technology to music. He is also a member of the Interstellar Foundation, dedicated to telling the story of humankind via NASA spacecraft traveling beyond the solar system.