With spring break in progress in many regions, Dr. Rochelle Walensky – director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – is warning Americans that abandoning pandemic precautions could lead to another increase in cases. “We saw images of people enjoying the spring break festivities without a mask; all of this in the context of still 50,000 cases a day, ”Walensky said at a news conference on Monday.
She added that many places in Europe are now seeing spikes in COVID-19 after loosening restrictions, and is proof that taking the “eye off the ball” can cause problems. “I am begging you, for the sake of our nation’s health. These should be warning signs for all of us,” said Walensky. Despite these calls, data from the Transportation Security Administration shows that more than 1 million Americans are traveling every day for the past week, the largest number of travelers since the pandemic began.
So, where are these people going and are they protected? Here’s what you need to know.
Spring break is migrating to Texas beaches, where all restrictions have been lifted
Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially lifted all pandemic restrictions in the state on March 2, allowing companies to reopen by 100 percent and the masks to be discarded. No wonder, then, that spring break chose to spend the state vacation – with thousands reportedly heading to Galveston, an island off the southeastern coast of Texas. Michael Woody, director of tourism for Galveston, told Houston’s KPRC-TV news station that he expects the rush to continue. “There are more than 30 million people within a radius of 480 kilometers … and for many of them we have the nearest beach,” he said.
Dr. Bhavna Lall, an assistant clinical professor of adult medicine at the University of Houston and a public health specialist trained by Harvard University, says these trips are premature. “Having thousands of people flocking to the beaches when they are not vaccinated, when they are not wearing masks, without social distance, will only spread further,” Lall told Yahoo Life. “They will go back to their cities and spread it to other people who have not been vaccinated too. And the more this virus spreads, the more it mutates and the more we go to end up with worrying variants.”
Lall says that all three main variants of COVID-19 – the United Kingdom variant (B.1.1.7), the South Africa variant (B.1.351) and the Brazil variant (P.1) – are currently spreading across Texas, which means it’s not a safe place for people to visit. “We are really risking this with all these people gathering outside in close proximity, without social distance and then entering restaurants and bars and without wearing masks and without social distance,” she says. “So, we really just need to hang on and just a few more months.”
Most universities are canceling spring break; 1 the school is paying students to avoid it
In the wake of a wave of COVID-19 last summer caused largely by young people, a report this week showed that 60 percent of colleges in the United States chose to cancel their spring break. Many are offering creative solutions, such as “wellness days” or midweek days off, all in the hope that students will stay in their state and not travel elsewhere during spring break.
One school took an even more aggressive approach to preventing students from traveling – offering them a reward for following the rules. Earlier this month, the University of California. Davis offered $ 75 “scholarships” to the first 500 students who agreed not to travel during the university’s spring break, which runs from March 22 to 25. Dr. Daniel Bachmann, an emergency physician at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and director of his emergency preparedness program, is not opposed to the idea.
“I think it is definitely a step towards risk mitigation or to prevent an increase in positive cases,” Bachmann told Yahoo Life. He says he understands that the increase in vaccinations may be giving people hope that the pandemic is almost over, but he says there are still many unknowns to abandon precautions altogether. “I think the safest option is to follow the same measures that we have largely followed.”
Lall agrees. “We need to encourage young people to act responsibly, just to wait for a few more months,” she says. “The end is in sight. We just need to continue social detachment and wear masks. We just have to wait.”
Miami Beach officials had to shoot ‘pepper balls’ to disperse a crowd
Although Florida itself does not have a statewide masking mandate, Miami Dade-County has required internal masks since April 2020 – sending the message that the county takes the virus seriously. It is a message that the police intensified over the weekend when they arrested 100 people, many of them spring breakers, for becoming “undisciplined” in large groups. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told CNN that the events are worrying. “We have a problem with a lot of people coming here,” said Gelber. “We have a problem with a lot of people coming here to let go.”
Bachmann says that while the police may not be the ideal way to enforce these regulations, it is not a bad solution. “If you are traveling somewhere, it is definitely your responsibility to know and understand what the local regulations are where you are going,” he says. “So yes, if you are not observing whatever local regulations, whether they are related to COVID or not, then it is reasonable for law enforcement to be involved … law enforcement is another way of providing public health or people can be reminded of what the regulations are. “
Overall, he says those who are considering spring break – whether in Miami or elsewhere – should think hard about whether they can do it safely. “It all comes down to risk mitigation and decision making that will be safer from a COVID point of view – where you are going or how you are getting there, or the activities you are doing while you are there,” says Bachmann. “Choosing things that are safer from a COVID point of view, because we are not completely out of danger – although things are improving, we are definitely not out of danger.”
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