[ti:Experts Give Advice for Safe Holiday Travel]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]As people prepare to visit family and friends during the holiday season,
[00:06.44]some might be wondering whether it is safe
[00:10.08]to travel during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
[00:17.00]Experts and public health officials
[00:20.64]say it is currently safe for many people to travel.
[00:25.80]But they continue to urge everyone to carefully follow
[00:31.80]proven safety measures to limit virus spread.
[00:38.04]In its latest safety guidelines,
[00:41.16]the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
[00:45.96]urges people who are not fully vaccinated
[00:50.28]to delay travel during the holiday season.
[00:55.80]Unvaccinated people who do not travel
[00:59.68]should wear well-fitting face masks while attending
[01:04.12]holiday events taking place in indoor settings, the CDC says.
[01:11.56]It also says that even fully vaccinated individuals
[01:16.88]should wear face coverings in indoor settings
[01:20.80]in communities known to have high infection rates.
[01:26.60]Unvaccinated people who decide to travel
[01:30.48]should get a COVID-19 test one to three days
[01:35.72]before travel and three to five days after returning.
[01:41.92]The coronavirus coordinator for the White House, Jeff Zients,
[01:47.80]says about 59 percent of the U.S. population
[01:53.04]is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
[01:58.28]Children ages 5 to 11 were approved
[02:02.36]for the vaccine earlier this month.
[02:05.92]As of last week, 2.6 million children
[02:10.76]had gotten their first of two shots, Zients said.
[02:17.12]That is about 10 percent of children eligible to get vaccinated.
[02:23.80]Dr. Keith Armitage is an infectious disease expert
[02:29.00]at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
[02:34.60]He told The Associated Press that all travelers
[02:39.36]should avoid indoor events with unmasked crowds.
[02:44.92]“The Delta variant has really brought us back
[02:49.16]to an earlier time in the pandemic,” Armitage said.
[02:55.56]There is no requirement for COVID-19 vaccination or testing
[03:01.76]for Americans flying within the country.
[03:05.48]But the CDC says all travelers must still wear masks
[03:11.92]on trains, planes and in other indoor public transportation areas.
[03:20.32]Armitage said hotels do not present a large risk
[03:25.28]for vaccinated individuals as long as they wear masks
[03:30.08]around people they do not know.
[03:34.00]He noted that family gatherings with unvaccinated people
[03:39.00]can be more problematic, especially for those who are older
[03:44.60]or have health problems.
[03:47.64]Health experts suggest looking at the case levels
[03:52.64]and masking rules in the places people plan to visit before they travel.
[04:00.28]Many Americans already started their holiday travel plans last week.
[04:07.60]The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said last Friday, November 19,
[04:14.84]was the single busiest air travel day since March 2020.
[04:21.08]The agency said it processed 2.24 million travelers on that day.
[04:30.04]Travel group AAA predicts 53.4 million people
[04:36.08]will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on November 25.
[04:42.76]This is up 13 percent from 2020.
[04:47.80]AAA says about 48.3 million Thanksgiving travelers
[04:54.24]are expected to go by car.
[04:57.20]That is up from 47.1 million last year,
[05:02.36]but still below 2019's 49.9 million.
[05:08.80]I’m Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM