“The tragedy that could happen is one of your family members, from coming together in a family gathering, could wind up hospitalized and severely ill and could die. We don’t want to see that happen,” Dr. Walke said. “This year we’re asking people to be as safe as possible.”
College students returning home for the holiday should isolate themselves and limit interactions with friends on campus before their return. Once home, they should try to limit interactions with family members, interact outside rather than indoors, and wear masks indoors if a family member has a chronic condition that places them at risk.
Dr. Walke said he himself is not going to visit his parents, though he has not seen them in many months and they are imploring him to come home, and he has encouraged his own adult and college-aged children to isolate themselves before coming home for the holiday.
New concerns about the virus have been reflected in air travel plans. United Airlines said recently that it expected Thanksgiving week to be its busiest period since the pandemic’s onset, but on Thursday it reported that bookings had slowed and cancellations had risen in recent days. American Airlines has slashed December flights between the United States and Europe as cases rise sharply on both sides of the Atlantic.
AAA Travel said last week that it anticipates at least a 10 percent drop in travel this Thanksgiving, the largest one-year decrease since 2008, when the country was in the throes of the Great Recession. People who decide to travel are likely to drive, going shorter distances for fewer days than they may have otherwise, the organization said. Car trips were projected to fall 4.3 percent, far less than air travel. AAA cited rising cases, quarantine rules, health concerns and increased unemployment as factors.
If Americans choose to travel, they should do so as safely as possible, wearing masks and maintaining social distancing, even during the Thanksgiving meal with others outside the household.
The American Hospital Association joined with the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, which represents many of the nation’s doctors, to urge the public to be careful over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/world/as-the-us-nears-the-200000-daily-case-mark-americans-are-urged-to-avoid-thanksgiving-travel.html
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