Millions are traveling in the U.S., despite warnings.

 

Millions are traveling in the U.S., despite warnings.

 

Dec. 21, 2020, 10:25 a.m. ETDec. 21, 2020

Dec. 21, 2020

By Johnny Diaz

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/21/world/millions-are-traveling-in-the-us-despite-warnings.html

 

More than a million travelers a day passed through airport security checkpoints on each of the last three days in the United States.

 

With Christmas on Friday, the numbers show that, despite warnings from the C.D.C., people are on the move. On Friday, 1,066,747 people traveled through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, according to the agency. On Saturday, the figure was 1,073,563 and on Sunday, it was 1,064,619.

 

The last time passenger figures topped one million was around the Thanksgiving holiday: On Nov. 25, a Wednesday, 1,070,967 people passed through checkpoints, and on Nov. 29, a Sunday, there were 1,176,091 passengers. The numbers were less than half of what they had been for the same days in 2019, when more than two million people passed through airport security checkpoints.

 

The spikes in holiday travel this year come despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has urged people not to travel as Covid-19 cases continue to rise. The agency issued an advisory this month that “postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others.” It added, “you and your travel companions (including children) may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can still spread Covid-19 to family, friends, and community after travel.”

 

The C.D.C. encourages anyone who decides to travel to get a flu shot, keep a distance of six feet at checkpoints, wear a mask throughout the trip, bring extra hand sanitizer and wash hands regularly.

 

United Airlines said on Friday that it was working with health officials to contact passengers who may have been exposed to the coronavirus by a man who died on a recent flight. Four flight attendants who responded to the emergency onboard the flight, United 591, went into quarantine for 14 days after the plane reached Los Angeles, the flight attendants’ union said.

 

Johnny Diaz is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. He previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and The Boston Globe. @johnnydiaz__