Over 2M at US airports despite viral surge
SAN RAMON, Calif. — More than 1 million people have passed through U.S. airport security checkpoints in each of the past two days in a sign that public health pleas to avoid holiday travel are being ignored, despite an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases.
It marks the first time U.S. airports have screened more than 1 million passengers since Nov. 29. That came at the end of a Thanksgiving weekend that saw far more travel around the country than had been hoped as the weather turned colder and COVID-19 cases were already spiking again.
Now, hospitals in many areasarebeingoverwhelmed amid the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. since March, when most Americans were ordered to stay home and avoid interactions with other households.
The seven-day rolling average of newly reported infections in the U.S. has risen from about 176,000 a dayjustbeforeThanksgiving to more than 215,000 a day.
It’stooearlytocalculatehow much of that increase is due to travel and gatherings over Thanksgiving.
Although lockdowns are no longer in effect in many parts of the country, stay-athome orders have returned in some areas in effort to containthevirus. Nearly99% of California’s population of roughly 40 million people, for instance, has been told to remain at home except for essentialwork, shoppingand exercise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an advisory declaring “postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.”
Nevertheless, about 1.07 million people passed through the security checkpoints at U.S. airports on FridayandagainonSaturday, according to the TransportationSecurityAdministration.
It marks the first time U.S. airports have screened more than 1 million passengers since Nov. 29. That came at the end of a Thanksgiving weekend that saw far more travel around the country than had been hoped as the weather turned colder and COVID-19 cases were already spiking again.
Now, hospitals in many areasarebeingoverwhelmed amid the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. since March, when most Americans were ordered to stay home and avoid interactions with other households.
The seven-day rolling average of newly reported infections in the U.S. has risen from about 176,000 a dayjustbeforeThanksgiving to more than 215,000 a day.
It’stooearlytocalculatehow much of that increase is due to travel and gatherings over Thanksgiving.
Although lockdowns are no longer in effect in many parts of the country, stay-athome orders have returned in some areas in effort to containthevirus. Nearly99% of California’s population of roughly 40 million people, for instance, has been told to remain at home except for essentialwork, shoppingand exercise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an advisory declaring “postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.”
Nevertheless, about 1.07 million people passed through the security checkpoints at U.S. airports on FridayandagainonSaturday, according to the TransportationSecurityAdministration.
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