The first holiday weekend after the CDC announced a reduction in Covid restrictions is here and the glee is evident. The number of cases has gone down. The vaccines have worked. The population is almost vaccinated. The immunities are high. And it is now time to travel. This Memorial Day weekend is set to look like the old normal days and US citizens are only glad to hear that.
Memorial Day Weekend Is First Maskless Holiday In The US
Travel has shot up and whether it is by air or by road, people are on the move to meet their near and dear ones and go places to explore and tour. Vacations mean a lot of travel. It is estimated that around 37 million people would want to travel at least 50 miles from home to get to a popular park or celebration. It is 60% more than what was the attendance on same day last year but just 13% down from what was the attendance on same week in 2019.Â
As of today, only California, Hawaii and New Mexico are the only states which are implementing mask mandates to help the population stay safe. There is special mention of mandates for children below the age of 5 years in some states. The onus is on the average citizen to be able to protect himself during the celebration because a joyous get together is the best thing one needs to fend off mental health issues cropping up on the downside of things. These numbers were provided by AAA.
According to the US Transportation Security Administration, travel by air has shot up to 1.96 million, which is a record for the pandemic era. It was the highest on Friday and is scheduled to get higher through the weekend. The numbers of deaths and corona positive cases are predicted to go down by a massive number in the next four weeks.Â
The vaccination programs were praised by President Mr. Joe Biden, who maintained that hopes are high at the start of summer and good tidings are soon going to be here. “We’re not just saving lives. We’re getting our lives back.” Biden remarked at Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday. It is claimed that more than 166 million people have been vaccinated and this is around 50% of the total population already.
A primary care physician in Atlanta was noted saying last year he was worried about the spike in case numbers after this weekend and had warned everybody to refrain from travel as much as they could. “This year, I am not as worried. What a difference these vaccines have made,” says Dr. Saju Mathew. In mid-April, there was a short rise in the number of cases where total cases over a week were recorded at 71,200 per day. In the past week, the per day count has been just 21,600 Covid cases per day, which is 69% below that short peak of mid-April. This data was sourced by John Hopkins University.
The Risk Factor
Unvaccinated people are today the biggest threat against each other because they will want to remove their masks with the CDC guidelines allowing people to go maskless. There ca be no control on check of whether the maskless person is vaccinated or not. In this process, a good amount of unvaccinated people might get infected or spread the infection. This would be the only risk factor plaguing society today. The removal of mask mandates and often incentives for vaccinations are the only hope that will trigger unvaccinated people to get vaccinated. As of today, most senior citizens and middle-aged adults have been vaccinated. Community life will benefit most of them.