The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compels people who have not been vaccinated to reconsider their Labor Day travel plans.
While many citizens are looking forward to going somewhere during the Labor Day weekend, the threat of COVID-19’s Delta variant is still present. The Delta variant, currently the most contagious variant of COVID-19 cannot be ignored especially for unvaccinated people.
In the worst case of the COVID-19 surge, many have been infected, hospitalized, and have lost their lives despite great efforts of trying to keep positive cases at a controllable rate.
“First and foremost, if you are unvaccinated, we would recommend not traveling,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing Tuesday.
The CDC recommends people who aren’t fully vaccinated hold off on traveling “because travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19.” Additionally, anyone who is sick with coronavirus symptoms is urged to stay home, even if they’ve been vaccinated.
The CDC, however, stated that vaccinated individuals can travel provided they wear face masks.
“Although given where we are with disease transmission right now, we would say that people need to take … these risks into their own consideration as they think about traveling,” Walensky said.
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Preparing for Another Surge
According to USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, nearly 4.22 million new COVID-19 cases were reported in the U.S. in August, as the highly contagious delta variant rapidly spread. The states Florida and Hawaii are among those reporting their worst month of cases ever since the pandemic started.
The US reported almost 4.22 million new cases in August alone, making it the fourth-worst month for infections.
Among the states with their worst month ever for cases: Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, and Washington, in addition to the U.S. Virgin Islands:
- Hawaii’s cases grew by 232% compared to its previous highest month.
- Louisiana saw 62% more cases.
- Mississippi had 49% more cases in August than the previous worst month.
- Oregon was 47% worse.
Across the nation, there were 26,805 COVID-19 deaths, with more deaths reported the last week of August than in the entire month of July, the analysis shows.
“As people across the country prepare for Labor Day weekend, it’s critical that being vaccinated is part of their pre-holiday checklist,” said Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Response coordinator.
The CDC’s travel recommendation includes domestic and international flights. Furthermore, CDC and the State Department released a list of destinations that Americans should think twice about visiting. With that, people should reconsider going to Canada, and avoid traveling to Puerto Rico.