Survey: Most in Connecticut staying home this Thanksgiving
COVID-19 concerns cited by many as the reason
Few people are heading over the river and through the wood this Thanksgiving.
In fact, 89% of the respondents to an AAA survey of Connecticut residents indicated they will not be traveling for the holiday next week. And more than half of those staying home said it’s because of COVID-19 concerns, according to AAA, which released the survey results early Thursday.
Hours later, with more than 1 million COVID-19 cases reported in the United States over the previous seven days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving.
“As cases continue to increase rapidly across the United States, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with,” the CDC said on its website.
Gov. Ned Lamont’s office has cited several activities that could heighten the spread of the coronavirus disease during the holidays, including traveling to locations where the prevalence of infections is high; gathering outside one’s local area; and traveling for long periods in enclosed, crowded spaces, including buses and planes. Connecticut’s Phase 2.1 guidelines recommend limiting gatherings, both indoors and outdoors, to 10 people.
“Given the recent surge in COVID-19 and the strong urging of the governor and public health officials for everyone to stay home for the holiday, the Thanksgiving travel landscape continues to change,” Amy Parmenter, a spokeswoman for AAA in Greater Hartford, said in a news release announcing the survey results. “With that in mind, AAA conducted a new poll asking Connecticut residents who have decided against traveling for the holiday whether COVID-19, specifically, was the reason — and more than 50% said yes.”
Forty- one percent of the survey respondents indicated they considered the risk associated with COVID-19 to be “significant.”
Among those who planned to travel next week, 73% expected to drive. One quarter planned to fly and 2% planned to travel by some other mode of transportation, such as a bus or train.
“Although Thanksgiving is typically a driving holiday, it should be noted that since the beginning of COVID, those who have decided to travel this year have predominantly done so by car, where they can have greater control over their environment and the ability to modify plans at the last minute,” Parmenter said.
The survey of 1,215 Connecticut residents was conducted Nov. 12-13 by Public Policy Polling. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9%.
AAA advises those traveling by car to minimize the number of stops they have to make by packing meals, snacks and drinks in addition to an emergency roadside kit, extra masks and wipes. An interactive map with the latest COVID-19-related restrictions for all states is available at TripTik.AAA.com.
On average, gas prices nationally are nearly 50 cents a gallon cheaper than they were at this time last year, according to AAA. Average prices in October were the lowest in more than 15 years. In Connecticut, the average price of gas today is $2.13 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is 4 cents cheaper than a month ago and 53 cents cheaper than last year at this time.