More people traveled through airports on Christmas Eve than at any time during the pandemic
Although the CDC warned everyone on November 19 to cancel their vacation travel plans, apparently no one listened because more than a million people traveled by plane on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 – the day before the day before from Christmas.
According to TSA, 1,191,123 travelers passed through airport checkpoints across the country on Wednesday, making it the most traveled day of the year since March 16. In other words, December 23 marked the highest day for airport travel since the pandemic began. It is important to note that December was also the worst month for COVID cases, and you would think that people would avoid traveling when ABC 7 NY reports that about 143 Americans test positive every minute, but okay, America.
SMASH: @TSA 1,191,123 individuals screened at airport control points across the country yesterday, Wednesday, 23 December. It is the highest volume of checkpoints since March 16, when 1,257,823 people were tracked. If you choose to travel this holiday, wear a mask.
– Lisa Farbstein, TSA spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) December 24, 2020
TSA Public Relations spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein tweeted that she expects to see similar numbers for the rest of the weekend, as “a day or two later they are usually busier, as people return home after the holiday”.
The day before Thanksgiving, the TSA reports that 1,070,967 people went through airline checkpoints, despite protests from the CDC to stay home. It can be argued that the CDC only released the travel notice a few days before Thanksgiving Day, not giving travelers enough time to change their plans, but a week or two after issuing the Thanksgiving travel notice. , the CDC basically reprinted the same “stay home” warning before the winter holidays, and again, no one heard and continued to travel around the country for Christmas.
“Traveling can increase your chance of spreading and getting Covid-19,” says the CDC. “CDC continues to recommend postponing travel and staying at home, as this is the best way to protect yourself and others this year.”
More than 1 million people have passed US airport security checkpoints in the past two days as a sign that public health appeals to prevent vacation travel are being ignored, despite the alarming increase in COVID- 19. https://t.co/wufNR3dpBJ
– The Associated Press (@AP) December 20, 2020
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 330,000 people died of the virus in the U.S. and there have been more than 18 million cases of COVID across the country. Experts spoke with NPR earlier this month and said that the rise in COVID cases in December can be traced in large part to Thanksgiving meetings and travel. Dr. Anthony Fauci is also concerned that we will see “a wave overlapping the one we are already in” due to all the Christmas parties.
Since December 18, more than 6 million people have undergone airport security checks in the U.S., according to TSA, setting a record for air travel since the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/ltcxornJbT
– CBS News (@CBSNews) December 25, 2020
We know that it is difficult not to see friends and family on vacation, but for the people who did their part and stayed at home, we see you.
Information on COVID-19 is changing rapidly and Scary Mommy is committed to providing the latest data in our coverage. With news being updated so frequently, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For this reason, we encourage readers to use online resources from local public health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization to stay as informed as possible.