The holiday season is fast approaching. In other years, Thanksgiving typically means many people are traveling and planning large celebrations. This year, those plans may have to change. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may force people to reconsider how to plan for Thanksgiving this year.
“Some people in this country are going to [have] a relatively normal type of a Thanksgiving, but in other areas of the country you better hold off and maybe just have immediate family,” Fauci told host Chris Cuomo. “Make sure you do it in a way that people wear masks and you don’t have large crowds of people. You know, I’d like to say that everything is gonna be great by Thanksgiving, but I’m not so sure it is.”
Fauci warned many regions in the U.S. could see surges this fall and winter, as more people keep indoors. Already, people are worried about a potential third wave of the coronavirus.
“When you’re indoors it becomes more problematic to be able to block the transmission of infection,” Fauci said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends people don’t travel for Thanksgiving and limit gatherings to “only people who live in your household.” The CDC also recommends social distancing as much as possible during holiday gatherings and avoiding crowded areas.
In a webinar with American University’s Kennedy Political Union, Fauci said he will not be celebrating Thanksgiving with his daughters this year because they live in “disparate” parts of the country with high rates of COVID-19 cases. Instead, he will celebrate a “very, very closed family type of thing.”
Read more on traveling during the pandemic:
- Wanting to travel for the holidays despite the pandemic? Airlines might make it harder
- Can Americans travel to Canada during the pandemic?
- Can Americans travel to Mexico during the pandemic?
- Can you travel to Hawaii during the pandemic?
- There’s only one continent on earth that hasn’t had a single case of COVID-19
- Ireland is scared that visiting Americans will make coronavirus cases surge
- When will cruises start again in the U.S.?
- Can Americans travel to Puerto Rico during the pandemic?
- Can Americans travel to Costa Rica (and other Central American countries) during the pandemic?
Continue Learning