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Busy airports and serpentine lines at test sites: Many Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with extended families on Thursday, as authorities warned they risk exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the country.
Stopping before issuing an outright ban, the U.S. government’s health protection agency for the first time called on Americans not to travel for the annual vacation, which sees families gathering around the turkey, yams and cranberry sauce and for many it’s more important than Christmas. .
With more than 150,000 new cases per day in the United States, which has the world’s highest death toll from coronavirus, over 256,000, most state governors have urged citizens not to transform their dining rooms in coronavirus outbreaks.
Anthony Fauci, a highly respected government infectious disease expert, has sought to lead by example by announcing that his three grown daughters will not be visiting him for Thanksgiving this year.
He said he would celebrate the party alone with his wife, settling for a “glass of wine” with his children above Zoom.
But after nearly nine months of the pandemic, the guidelines are too restrictive for some Americans who are finding ways to celebrate with loved ones while limiting the number of guests.
– ‘Busiest weekend’ –
Over the weekend, social media images of crowded Chicago and Phoenix airports fueled concerns about whether Americans were taking the warnings seriously enough.
It was the “busiest weekend” since the start of the pandemic with more than three million passengers passing through US airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration, responsible for security checks.
The number is less than half of the seven million who traveled on Thanksgiving last year, but health officials fear that is enough to fuel a catastrophic increase in cases in December.
“Our calls for help have fallen on selfish deaf ears,” tweeted Cleavon Gilman, an emergency room doctor in Arizona, noting that state hospitals are “overwhelmed” with Covid patients.
New York and many other US cities have witnessed long lines outside testing centers in recent days as people seek negative tests to visit loved ones in full conscience, even though health officials point out that testing several days before a gathering does not eliminate the risk of transmission. .
24-year-old friends Amanda and Chris stood in line for two hours at a test site in New York on Sunday.
They are reluctant to visit family in Florida, but feel rushed by their parents.
“Our family was the one that said, ‘Please come this time,’” said Amanda, who works at an auction house.
“When I told my mom we were going to line up, she said, ‘You don’t have to do this.’ They seem a lot less intelligent than us, ”she told AFP.
Mary Perez, 54, from Long Island, says she usually has 35 family members for Thanksgiving, but this year she will be slightly over the New York governor’s 10-person limit. Eleven parents will gather at her house: five adults and six children.
“I don’t really feel like I’m breaking the law (because) you can’t really count the little ones. They must accompany their parents, ”she told AFP.
– ‘Hinge moment’ –
Even with minimal celebrations – resulting in orders for much smaller turkeys this year, according to breeders – officials fear an explosion of cases as Christmas approaches.
Since the pandemic began in March, the holidays have sparked outbreaks of the virus, especially after July 4, Labor Day in September and Halloween, according to health officials.
For Thanksgiving, the first vacation of the winter period, the risk is even greater as thousands of students will return home and often stay there until January.
“It is not too late to change your plans,” pleaded Monday Meghan McGinty, disaster prevention expert at Johns Hopkins University.
“Thanksgiving will be a pivotal moment in controlling the pandemic. If we don’t limit our celebration to our homes only, we will no doubt see cases and hospitalizations increase after Thanksgiving, ”she said.
© 2020 AFP
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