If you are still unvaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging you to stay home on Labor Day weekend. The agency’s Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said traveling for such people should also be off the table.
“People who are fully vaccinated, and who are wearing masks, can travel. 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,” she said, according to NPR.
Aside from the CDC Director, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said, “It’s critical that being vaccinated is part of their pre-holiday checklist” ahead of the Labor Day weekend.”
For those who are not yet fully vaccinated but still decide to travel within the United States, the CDC recommends getting tested one to three days before travel, getting tested again three to five days after travel, then quarantining for seven days. However, if they will not get tested, they should be in self-quarantine for 10 days.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the holiday weekend was a concern to health officials. This is because most Americans traditionally travel or hold events during these times. However, events or traveling could increase the chances of the virus spreading widely and quickly.
Last year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than three million airline passengers during the Labor Day holiday. In the same month the previous year, vaccines were not yet available. Now that many people have been vaccinated, officials’ primary concern is the people who refuse or are unwilling to get the shot. Officials said that most of the COVID-19 cases throughout the United States are targeting the unvaccinated population. So, if they will travel this Labor Day weekend, it can cause another major spike in hospitalizations, infections, or even death.
