Before Christmas, the United States sees over one million air passengers

Hard-hit On Christmas Eve, California surpassed 2 million coronavirus cases, as the United States prepared for a holiday season of travel and family gatherings that threatens to spread the deadly pandemic across the country. Despite public health officials’ advice to stay at home, more than 1.19 million people passed through U.S. airport security checks on Wednesday, a 40 percent decrease from a year ago but the largest one-day number since the crisis began in mid-March.

Before Christmas, the United States sees over one million air passengers

Between last Friday and Tuesday, airports registered roughly 1 million passengers on each of the five days. Ember McCauley, a 21-year-old nursing student at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, flew from Kansas City to Austin, Texas, on Tuesday to look for a wedding dress with a cousin who is getting married in November. On Christmas Eve, she was returning home. She admitted to being “a little” concerned about travelling during the outbreak. “I feel like I eat properly and I take a lot of precautions, such as hand sanitising and washing, and wearing my mask all the time,” she added. Even if something bad happens, I think I’ll be fine.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease specialist, expressed concern about travel between Christmas and New Year’s Day. On Thursday, Fauci, who turned 80, said he and his wife will be celebrating his birthday and the holidays on Zoom with their children.

The Washington Post quoted Fauci as saying, “We have a big problem.” “Take a look at the stats – they’re fairly spectacular.” Over 327,000 people have died in the United States as a result of the virus, with over 3,000 deaths per day being reported on a daily basis for the past two weeks. “Right now, we’re in a very difficult situation.” People are just not following public health norms, as evidenced by the amount of people travelling for the Christmas holiday, according to Dr. Lee Harrison, a University of Pittsburgh professor of medicine and epidemiology. Vaccines had high aspirations in the United States, with officials promising that 20 million people would be vaccinated by the end of the year. However, as of Wednesday, approximately 1.1 million Americans had received the first dose of the two-dose inoculations, marking another another setback in an otherwise disappointing year.

On Christmas Eve, California became the first state to record 2 million confirmed coronavirus infections, as nearly the entire state was under a severe stay-at-home order and hospitals battled to cope with the largest surge of cases since the pandemic began. On January 25, the first COVID-19 case in California was verified. On Nov. 11, it took 292 days to achieve 1 million instances. The next million took 44 days to reach. More than 23,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in California, the most populated state. It has a lower confirmed infection rate (cases per 100,000 persons) than the United States. However, with roughly 40 million citizens, the outbreak outnumbers that of other states. There are almost 18,000 individuals in the hospital, with many intensive care units full. “It’s difficult to watch people suffer,” Melanie LaMadrid, a nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley, said. Nurses are fatigued, fearful of what will happen next, and enraged at people who refuse to listen to their pleas to stay at home and keep safe. Jenny Carrillo, a Holy Cross nurse, broke down in tears as she added, “I wish they could simply walk down our unit for a day and look at the faces of some of these people.”