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Defying warnings, millions in the US travel for Thanksgiving

Published:Wednesday | November 25, 2020 | 2:32 PM
Travellers wearing masks check-in at the United desks at San Francisco International Airport during the coronavirus outbreak in San Francisco, Tuesday, November 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Millions of Americans took to the skies and the highways for Thanksgiving at the risk of pouring gasoline on the coronavirus fire, disregarding increasingly dire warnings that they stay home and limit their holiday gatherings to members of their own household.

Those who are flying witnessed a distinctly 2020 landscape at the nation’s airports during what is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year: plexiglass barriers in front of the ID stations, rapid virus testing sites inside terminals, and paperwork asking them to quarantine on arrival at their destination.

While the number of Americans travelling by air over the past several days was down dramatically from the same time last year, plenty of others pressed ahead with their holiday plans amid skyrocketing deaths, hospitalisations, and confirmed infections across the US.

Many were tired of more than eight months of social distancing and determined to spend time with loved ones.

“I think with the holidays and everything, it’s so important right now, especially because people are so bummed out because of the whole pandemic,” said 25-year-old Cassidy Zerkle of Phoenix, who flew to Kansas City, Missouri, to visit family.

She brought snacks and her own hand sanitiser and said the flight was half full. She had a row of seats to herself.

“As long as you’re maintaining your distance, you’re not touching stuff and you’re sanitising your hands, people should see their families right now,” she said.

The coronavirus is blamed for more than 12.6 million confirmed infections and over 269,000 deaths in the US.

More than 88,000 people in the US — an all-time high — were in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, pushing the health care system in many places to the breaking point, and new cases have soared to an average of over 174,000 per day, the highest level on record.

Deaths have surged to more than 1,600 per day, a mark last seen in May when the crisis in the New York area was easing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local authorities have begged people not to travel and urged them to keep their Thanksgiving celebrations small.

“That’ll make sure that your extended family are around to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate the holidays next year,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.

About one million people per day passed through US airport checkpoints from Friday through Tuesday, a drop-off of around 60% from the same time a year ago.

Still, those have been the biggest crowds since the COVID-19 crisis took hold in the US in March.

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