Health officials have noticed an uptick in the spread of COVID-19 leading up to the holidays. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following states have reportedly recorded an uptick in COVID-19-related deaths through November 11: Tennessee, Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina, Maine, Missouri, Michigan and Illinois. Nationally, the rate of COVID-19-related deaths rose by 0.2% during the week of November 11 and the rate of COVID-19-related hospitalizations increased by 8.6% during the same time frame.
“There are safe and effective ways to prevent the bad outcomes of these diseases and it relies very much on the ABCs, staying up to date with vaccinations, testing yourself, staying home if you’re sick, contacting your primary health care provider if you test positive to know if you’re eligible for getting treatments, and then doing the everyday things to protect your loved ones,” Dr. Albert Ko of the Yale School of Public Health told ABC News.
“The number one responsibility that we all have is that if we’re feeling ill or slightly feeling ill or even beginning to feel ill, we question whether or not we should travel. The number one thing that I would encourage people to do, if you’re feeling ill, if you are potentially infectious, try not to go into large crowds, into situations where you can infect people,” Dr. Perry Halkitis of the Rutgers School of Public Health added in a separate statement to ABC News.
The increased spread of COVID-19 coincides with the rise of travel leading up to the holiday weekend. According to the AAA, more than 55 million people are expected to travel throughout the U.S. during the holiday weekend.
