Despite a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, millions of people are expected to travel for the holidays.
AAA projects as many as 84.5 million Americans may travel from Wednesday, Dec. 23 through Jan. 3, a decline of at least 29% from 2019.
Hannah Buchner is in the Army and flew into the San Luis Obispo airport Wednesday from North Carolina. She noticed extra safety precautions in place.
"Everyone was wearing masks. Just a little more distancing, and there's a lot more cleaning procedures on the plane,” she said.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging Americans not to go anywhere for the holidays this year, for those who do, they recommend taking a COVID-19 test one to three days before travel and another three to five days after travel, in addition to reducing nonessential activities for seven days after.
Maureeni Stanislaus, who flew into San Luis Obispo Wednesday after visiting her mother, says she did get tested.
“I did a COVID test right before I left and I was lucky enough to get the first dose of the vaccine on Friday,” she said.
As for methods of travel, AAA says most Americans who do go somewhere in the next few weeks will do so by car, with road trips accounting for 96% of holiday travel.
