The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is being proactive when it comes to COVID testing as spring break season approaches.

College students have had their spring break but as K-12 students, staff and families venture out for their turn during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are some precautions that need to be in place.

If we have learned anything over the past year is that people can be advised to not travel until officials are blue in the face but people will still make their own decisions and weigh the risks themselves.

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This is absolutely not me trying to shame anyone for traveling during the pandemic, I'll admit right now I've done it. However, there are some ways you can do it as safely as possible.

One recommendation I will absolutely make is to study up on the COVID regulations that may be in place wherever you may be traveling. That way, you can make sure you have your mask and also just not look like some jerk tourist.

Another thing I would strongly encourage, and many officials would agree, try your best to get tested before you go. Even if you are asymptomatic, you can still spread COVID to other people among your travels and that does nothing to help stop the spread and get things back to normal for the entire country...also it just makes Michigan look bad (I say that semi-sarcastically).

With that being said, getting tested upon your return is also a good idea and that is where MDHHS comes in.

According to WILX News 10, MDHHS is partnering with school districts, ISDs and local health departments to execute "pop-up" testing events to offer "a one-time, free, on-site, staffed, rapid COVID-19 testing."

This service, as WILX reports, will be scheduled and offered to people like school staff, students and community members who want to (or should want to) get tested before classes start back up after students and families travel for spring break.

If your school district would like to host one of these pop-up testing events, WILX shares you can reach out to MDHHS-COVIDTESTINGSUPPORT@michigan.gov.

While nobody can stop you from living your life and taking your vacations (we know we could absolutely all use one) you still take your health and that of others around you into consideration and this is a great, easy way to do that!

Not to scare anyone, but your typical spring break experience may look a bit different this year. Here's a few different perspectives on how the pandemic has changed tourism:

See Striking Photos of the Tourism Industry During COVID-19

KEEP READING: See states hit hardest by COVID-19’s impact on tourism

And here are some photos of some national parks you should absolutely check out!

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

 

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