CDC warns against holiday travel; officials concerned about virus spread
Gatherings may help accelerate spread of virus, officials fear
NEW YORK — With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation’s top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household.
Itwassomeof the firmest guidance yet from the government on curtailing traditional gatherings to fight the outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the recommendations one week before Thanksgiving, at a time when diagnosed infections, hospitalizations and deaths are skyrocketing across the country. In many areas, the health care system is being squeezed by a combination of sick patients filling up beds and medical workers falling ill themselves.
The country is bracing for winter weather, flu season and holiday travel, all of which are expected to amplify a national outbreak that has already swelled past 11.6 million cases and 251,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The CDC’s Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz cited more than 1 million new cases in the country over the past week as the reason for the new guidance.
“The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household,” she said.
The new guidance,
which contrasted sharply with recent White House efforts to downplay the threat, states that gathering with friends and even familymemberswhodo not live with you increases the chances of becoming infected with COVID-19 or the flu or transmitting the virus.
“We’re alarmed,” Dr. HenryWalke, COVID-19 incident manager at the CDC, said at a news briefing. “What we’re concerned about is not only the actual mode of travel — whether it’s an airplane or bus or car, but also the transportation hubs we’re concerned about, aswell.”
“When people are in line” to getona bus or plane,
social distancing becomes far more difficult and viral transmission becomesmore likely, he said.
The agency’s overriding concern is that the holiday may accelerate the spread of the virus, CDC officials said.
Older family members are at great risk for complications and death should they contract the virus.
Officials made the pleas to avoid travel even as they acknowledged that the prolonged outbreak has taken a toll on families, and that people are craving connection after months of isolation.
ButWalkewarned family get-togethers — especially those that bring different
households together — could inadvertently lead to tragic outcomes.
“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,” Walke said.
College students returning home for the holiday should isolate themselves and limit interactions with friends on campus before their return, and once home, they should try to limit interactions with familymembers, trying to interact outside rather than indoors and wear masks indoors if a family member has a chronic condition that
places them at risk.
If families do decide to include returning college students, military members or others for turkey and stuffing, the CDC is recommending that the hosts take added precautions: Gatherings should be outdoors if possible, with people keeping 6 feet apart andwearing masks and just one person serving the food.
Whether Americans heed thewarning is another matter.
The deadly comeback by the virus has been blamed in part on pandemic fatigue, or people getting tired of masks and other precautions. And surgeswere seen last summer afterMemorial Day and July Fourth, despite blunt warnings from health authorities.
CDC scientists believe that somewhere around 40% of people who are infected do not have obvious symptoms but can still spread the virus.
United Airlines said recently that it expected Thanksgivingweek to be its busiest period since the pandemic’s onset, but Thursday it reported that bookings had slowed and cancellations had risen in recent days.
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.
Meanwhile, 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 holidayweekend.
In an open letter Thursday, the groups urged Americans “to celebrate responsibly in a scaled-back fashion.”
In response to rising infection numbers, the Smithsonian Institution inWashington is shutting down operations at all its facilities, effective Monday and affecting seven museums, plus theNational Zoo.
The Smithsonian said its “top priority is to protect the health and safety of its visitors and staff.”
No reopening date is scheduled.