Americans risk traveling for holiday despite warnings
Millions of Americans took to the skies and the highways ahead of 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.
While the number of Americans traveling by air over the past several days was down dramatically from the same time last year, many pressed ahead with their holiday plans amid skyrocketing deaths, hospitalizations and confirmed infections across the U. S.
Some 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 during what is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
She brought snacks and her own hand sanitizer 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 sanitizing 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 U. S. 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.
About 900,000 to 1 million people per day passed through U. S. airport checkpoints from Friday through Tuesday, a drop- off of around 60% from the same time a year ago. Still, those were some of the biggest crowds since the COVID- 19 crisis took hold in the U. S. in March.
Thea Zunick, 40, boarded a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Florida to see her 90- year- old grandmother and her parents.
“We’ve all kind of decided like it’s worth the risk,” Zunick said. “But I wanted to make sure that all the efforts that I’ve made to stay healthy isn’t undone by other people’s carelessness. And absolutely, I know that I’m taking a risk by flying. I know that, but sometimes it’s necessary.”