The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had a rather clear advisory for Americans heading into Thanksgiving week — don’t travel.
The United States had a different reply — hold my boarding pass.
What’s going on?
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened more than 2 millio
n passengers from Friday and Saturday alone.
- The TSA has screened an average of 1 million people per day since March, when the coronavirus pandemic began.
- But last Friday was the second day since March with over 1 million people screened.
Context:
The decision for millions of Americans to travel comes as the CDC has advised Americans not to do so ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, which I wrote about for the Deseret News.
The CDC said people should only include those in their immediate household at their Thanksgiving celebration.
- The CDC defined a household as anyone who has been living in your home for the past two weeks. This would exclude college students returning home, or elder family members who are coming home for the holidays.
“Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year,” the CDC says.
That said ...
Experts said Americans can travel during the holidays if they quarantined for 14 days before the holiday, which would begin on Nov. 12, as I wrote about for the Deseret News. It’s unclear if the people who TSA screened quarantined before they traveled, but it’s certainly possible.
- “The two-week quarantine time frame is called for because that’s the length of the virus’ incubation period — that is, the time from when a person is exposed to when symptoms develop,” according to NBC News.