Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many travel plans, social gatherings, and other outdoor activities are put on hold to protect everyone from the risk of coronavirus infection. But despite the travel restrictions and lockdown classifications, several people are still planning to relocate to a new home during the pandemic.
Thus, if you’re one of these people who have no choice but to move to a new location, it’s important that you follow certain protocols to keep yourself and everyone involved safe and healthy throughout this intense undertaking.
To get you started with the transition, below are a few tips for making safe and healthy relocation arrangements during the pandemic:
Work With Professional Movers
One of the important health and safety considerations when moving during the COVID-19 pandemic is the hiring of a reliable relocation service provider. While you can always go for the DIY route to minimize the risk of getting infected, it may still be a great idea to seek professional help.
Since moving can be considered essential during this unfortunate time, most moving companies NYC or wherever you may be, are obliged to put a COVID-19 policy in place to protect their employees and clients and keep them safe and healthy during the transition. Hence, to make sure you’re hiring the right moving company, asking the following questions may be in order:
- Know if they have a full operation in your area to ensure your move isn’t affected by the travel restrictions that may be imposed in your location.
- Know if they have special requirements to guarantee the safety and health of everyone involved, including a contactless relocation to reduce the risk of infection and transmission
- Check if they follow special safety measures for the protection of their clients and employees, which include wearing of masks, gloves, hand sanitizing, social distancing, and many more.
Do The Packing At Least 24 Hours Before The Big Day
While you can hire movers near Manhattan or other cities nearby to pack all your belongings for you, it may be for your own safeguard if you opt to do the packing by yourself. This is to minimize your exposure from other people which may increase the threat of COVID-19 infection.
Hence, in order to make this task as safe and healthy as possible, be sure to use new cardboard boxes and complete the job at least 24 hours before the moving day. Realistically speaking, the coronavirus can contaminate surfaces, including your boxes for a long time.
So, to avoid the spread of the virus, make sure to finish everything ahead of time. Also, don’t let anyone touch your boxes until the relocation crew arrives. If possible, have these boxes sanitized for better protection.
Follow Healthy Habits
Since you have a moving company that can assist you with the relocation during the pandemic, it’s also important that you perform the part of the bargain and that’s to follow some habits to keep yourself safe and healthy. If you start to feel flu-like symptoms despite following healthy habits, it’s important to get tested for COVID-19. Standard RT-PCR tests at drive-ins and community testing centers can take 3 business days to return results, timing that isn’t ideal surrounding a busy move. Rapid PCR COVID testing can give you the answers you need in 30 minutes. Therefore, if you want to avoid getting infected with coronavirus or any other virus, make sure to practice these habits throughout your relocation:
- Eat healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grain, lean meat, eggs, and many more to have the energy level you need for the move.
- Sleep well to avoid fatigue and loss of concentration during the whole relocation process.
- Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
- Do some exercises to condition your body for the difficult aspects of the move.
- Don’t forget to de-stress by doing yoga and treating yourself with the things you love.
Get Ready For The Moving Day
One of the essential things that you should do to keep yourself safe and healthy while relocating during the pandemic is to be prepared for the big day. With the moving crew arriving to your home to start the process, it’s best if you’re ready to do the following:
- Keep a safe distance from other people
- Wear masks and gloves throughout the process
- Sanitize hands with water and soap. If it’s impossible, always bring a bottle of alcohol for sanitizing
- Avoid touching anything to prevent virus contamination
- Prepare an essentials bag with alcohol, masks, snacks, water, chargers, clothing, and many more so you don’t have to go outside to buy these things while the move is ongoing.
As you can see, there are plenty of things to do during the relocation day. While it’s usually a challenging day, it becomes more stressful and complicated because you need to ensure your health and safety from start to finish.
Conclusion
When it comes to moving during the pandemic, it’s best if you do this process with caution. While the corona virus can be scary for anyone, you shouldn’t let this health issue control your life. Therefore, if you’ve decided to relocate to a new home today, follow the tips mentioned above and you’ll certainly keep yourself safe and healthy.
