AUGUSTA, Georgia (WRDW / WAGT / WCSC) – Americans may not be booking a lot of vacations at the moment, but are traveling for the holidays.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, more than 1 million people were screened at airports Friday and Saturday.
This marks the first time since the pandemic began that more than 1 million brochures have been examined on consecutive days.
The figures suggest an early run for holiday flights.
At the moment, the air travel pandemic record was set the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when more than 1.1 million people flew.
For those traveling by car, teams on both sides of the Savannah River are taking a break from construction and closings to make their journey easier.
The Georgia Department of Transportation will stop all work from 5 am on Wednesday to 10 pm on Sunday. Restrictions will also be in effect for the New Year, from 5:00 am on December 31 to January 2.
In South Carolina, teams will suspend work from 6am Wednesday to January 3.
What the experts say
AAA expects about 85 million people to travel on vacation. Although it is a significant decline from last year, it still leaves health officials concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, especially on airplanes where the capacity for social distance is limited.
“It was like two seats in each row … and it was a full plane and everything,” said Aaliyah Gadson. “They say they sanitize and everything, but you know they still have everyone sitting on each seat and it was packed.”
Gadson is returning home after a month-long visit to Texas. She says she is not concerned with spreading the coronavirus.
“I am planning to take the test,” said Gadson. “I know they say if you have the symptoms or whatever you don’t, but I’m planning on getting tested because I don’t trust it.”
Health officials say that if you are traveling, get tested before you leave and when you arrive. You can find a complete list of CDC travel recommendations here.
To facilitate this, Charleston International Airport and Medical University of South Carolina will have a rapid test clinic in the parking lot from Monday to Wednesday from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
Even so, many people chose not to fly. TSA records show that about a million people passed security checkpoints across the country on Friday. A year ago, that number was about 2.6 million people.
If you have to travel, the CDC recommends washing your hands frequently, keeping your mask on at all times and getting a flu shot before you leave.
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