STATEWIDE — Health experts are warning people to cancel their spring break plans, for fears of another COVID-19 surge.
What You Need To Know
- Health experts warn people to be careful about spring break travel
- Getting together in close, fun situations could spark jump in COVID cases, they say
- More than 1.3 million people were screened at airports Friday, officials report
- That is the highest number since March 15, 2020, transportation officials say
The Tampa Bay and Central Florida areas and much of Florida are popular destinations for many seeking some sunshine and sand during spring break, especially this spring given the fact that it’s been exactly a year since much of the world came to halt with the pandemic.
More than 1.3 million people were screened at airports nationwide on Friday, the highest number since March 15, 2020, the Transportation Security Administration reported.
But the Centers For Disease Control is discouraging spring break travel, even for the fully vaccinated, saying the COVID virus still has yet to be fully contained.
“Whenever you get a situation where you're going to have people traveling to go to a separate location where there's going to be congregate setting, a festive atmosphere, it's totally understandable that people want to do that,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the top COVID adviser to President Joe Biden, said.
“But that's something we’ve really got to be careful of. We want people to have a good time on spring break, but don't put your guard down completely. Just be prudent a bit longer. We are going in the right direction. We're almost there,” he said.
As health officials are urging safety and distance as they worry large gatherings could lead to another coronavirus surge, people are filling Florida beaches and Disney World reservations.
Disney is continuing with its reservation system it started when it reopening during the pandemic. Even if guests have tickets to the parks or annual passes, they still have to book a reservation for the day and the park they want to go to. Those daily park reservations are booked for at least a week.
Fauci says while coronavirus cases and deaths have gone down, he says it is not enough to stop a surge from spring break travel.
“Even though the numbers have gone down, over the last couple weeks they’ve plateaued,” said Fauci. “When you see a plateau at a level as high as 60,000 cases a day, that is a very vulnerable time to have a surge to go back up.”
Fauci worries despite progress with more vaccinations, all of the spring break travel could lead to a spread of new cases, especially with cases of the COVID-19 variant rising now in the country.
That is why health officials are discouraging spring break travel. But for people already heading out to places like Disney, they urge people to keep masking, distancing and washing those hands.
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March 14, 2021 at 08:55PM
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Health Officials Discourage Spring Break Travel Due to Pandemic - Bay News 9
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