AS CORONAVIRUS DEATHS SOAR, MILLIONS IN US STICK TO THANKSGIVING TRAVEL PLANS DESPITE WARNINGS
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
The U.S. is now averaging more than 1,500 new virus deaths per day, the highest level since the initial spring peak. The seven-day rolling average for fatalities was less than 1,000 only two weeks ago. There have been close to 1.4 million confirmed deaths globally and the U.S. has the most by far: more than 257,000.
New daily infections in the U.S. have also rocketed to all-time highs, averaging more than 170,000 per day, bringing the total to over 12.4 million confirmed cases.
Amid these bleak numbers, and despite emphatic warnings from public health authorities to stay home for Thanksgiving, millions of Americans are crowding the nation’s airports, unwilling to miss out on seeing family and convinced they can do it safely, Dee-Ann Durbin and David Koenig report.
More than 3 million people were screened at U.S. airports on Friday and Saturday — the busiest stretch of air travel since mid-March.
The number of travelers at U.S. airports this weekend was down 57% from last year but the crowds are only expected to grow. Sunday is likely to be the busiest day of the holiday period.
Holiday Restrictions: Thanksgiving could be a make-or-break moment in the U.S. battle against the virus. Governors and mayors are ratcheting up mask mandates and imposing restrictions on small indoor gatherings, which have been blamed for accelerating the spread. But such measures are largely unenforceable. Experts say if people disregard the new state and local restrictions and socialize anyway, that could put greater stress on overburdened hospitals and lead to an even bigger spike in sickness and death over the December holidays, Michael Rubinkam reports.
Virus Fallout: Some new restrictions to stop the explosive spread of the virus are throwing people out of work again. About 20 million Americans are now receiving some form of unemployment benefits, Tammy Webber reports.
Most California counties are under a curfew. Los Angeles County, the nation’s largest, is on the brink of a stay-home order after a surge surpassed a level set by health officials to trigger one. A swell of new cases pushed the county over an average of 4,500 cases per day.
The nation’s capital is tightening its COVID-19 restrictions in the face of spiraling virus numbers. Starting Wednesday, the maximum limit for outdoor gatherings will be reduced from 50 to 25 people and indoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people.
Nevada tightened restrictions on casinos, restaurants and private gatherings beginning today.
