While the city carries on toward adopting new bed-and-breakfast rules — we hope — experts are now saying that such vacation rentals may be the least risky accommodations for travelers just now.

It’s safer than a crowded hotel, staying with friends or family outside your household, and certainly better than the shared spaces of a hostel or dorm, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That’s heartening news to B&B hosts. Still, a legal permit should not be seen as optional.