The CDC is now recommending that all Americans avoid traveling for the holidays and advising that people not attempt to meet up with family members outside of their households this Thanksgiving, CNN reports. So if you were entertaining the idea of traveling this Thanksgiving, whether you were going to hop on a plane or pack up the car, the CDC’s message is simple: Please, don’t. In addition to the Thanksgiving travel advisory, the CDC has also updated its travel safety guidelines for the holiday season as a whole, including tips on how to safely use public transportation, visit public bathrooms, rest stops, get gas, visit hotels, and protocols to follow when stopping for food.
In a conference call with reporters, the CDC also warned families that returning college students and other loose household members pose a risk and should be treated with extra precautions.
“People who have not been living in your household for the 14 days before you are celebrating should not be considered members of your household and so you should take those extra precautions, even wearing marks within your own home,” says Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz, the CDC’s lead for Community Intervention and Critical Population Task Force.
The CDC is also worried about multiple generations of family members mixing, as 40% of COVID-19 carriers are asymptomatic and suggests family members who do meet should continue to wear masks together and hold gatherings outside whenever possible. According to recent numbers from Johns Hopkins University, over 250,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19 with over 11.5 million people diagnosed with the virus since the pandemic’s start.
