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MONTGOMERY– For Kenneth Byrnes, this will be the first time he has travelled to celebrate holidays with family in New England in a year and a half, since the pandemic disrupted travel and gatherings for his family and so many others.
“A couple years ago I would take a cheap flight at the Stewart Airport, but it’s not very possible right now,” Byrnes said. “We choose to drive because it’s a little bit more economical even though the gas price is going up a lot.”
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While a survey by the market research company Morning Consult shows nearly 60{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} of Americans are unlikely to travel for holidays, crowded airports and gatherings are nevertheless expected this season.
An estimate of 1.4 million passengers used the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey airports during the Thanksgiving break, the highest level since the beginning of the pandemic, and nearly 85 percent of passenger volume seen during the same period in 2019, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The agency had projected 4,000 passengers at New York Stewart International Airport during Thanksgiving, compared to 5,000 passengers for 2019.
The final count of Thanksgiving holiday travelers using Stewart is not yet in.
Last October, JetBlue Airways and Delta suspended operations at Stewart airport indefinitely as revenue and demand had plummeted amid the pandemic. While the air traffic is picking up, those airlines have not yet resumed their service.
The survey by Morning Consult also shows 33{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} of people are likely to travel for Christmas — an increase from 24{e9f0aada585b9d73d0d08d3c277fd760092386ec23cac37d50f4b8cd792b062a} compared to 2020. Many who plan to travel over the holidays expect to drive.
Chip Rogers, American Hotel and Lodging Association president, said in a news release that while vaccines have helped travelers feel more comfortable, rising gas prices and continued concerns about the pandemic are making many Americans hesitant to travel during the holidays.
Meanwhile, COVID cases tick upward once more as the winter holiday season is approaching. In Orange County, the numbers of positive cases have reached the highest level since April. On Dec. 2, 317 residents tested positive and recorded the highest one-day total in eight months, according to state Department of Health figures. On Dec. 5, there were 130 residents who tested positive.
Orange County Health Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman said typically the case numbers increase as more people move indoors. As the weather gets colder and more people start to gather inside, COVID spreads much more easily than when people are outdoors, she said. She encouraged people to follow all COVID guidelines, including masking and social distancing for unvaccinated individuals.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued updated guidelines for the upcoming holiday season, urging people to continue to get vaccinated and encouraging mask wearing in public spaces.
As Kenneth Byrnes, a Montgomery police officer, was giving out Thanksgiving meals to some families in the Valley Central School District, he was thankful for the ones that he loves and cares the most are safe and healthy.
While his own children have all been vaccinated, he prefers to guard against the virus and take extra precautions. And that’s one reason he’s driving this holiday season to visit family.
“I truly believe that spending time with the ones you love is the most important because there is no guarantee about tomorrow,” said Byrnes. “Just be thankful and don’t take anything for granted.”
hwang@gannett.com
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Healthline spoke with health and travel experts for answers to your biggest questions about traveling during the holiday season now that the Omicron variant has emerged.
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It was first detected earlier that month in samples collected in Botswana and South Africa.
On Nov. 26, the WHO named the variant and classified as it as variant of concern.
On Nov. 30, the United States followed suit, with the first U.S. case being identified the following day.
As with other variants, there are concerns about whether the new variant will be more contagious or cause more severe disease than other variants. There are also questions about whether existing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments will be effective against it.
In light of Omicron appearing just in time for the holidays and potential holiday travel plans, Healthline conducted a reader survey from Dec. 2–3 to gain a stronger sense of the biggest concerns and questions people have about their safety while traveling at this time.
After gathering this data, Healthline spoke with health and travel experts to provide answers and guidance about holiday travel safety after the rise of the Omicron variant.
Perhaps not surprisingly, almost all of the survey respondents had heard of the Omicron variant.
In fact, of the 1,044 U.S. consumers who participated in the survey, 97 percent reported that they had heard of it, leaving only 3 percent who had not.
The majority of people surveyed reported feeling concerned about the Omicron variant, with 68 percent saying they felt this way.
On the other hand, 29 percent said they were not worried about it.
Because of the new variant, respondents said they were less optimistic about the future of the pandemic than they were in a previous survey done in August.
Overall, 32 percent of people said they felt less optimistic about the future, 19 percent said they felt more optimistic, and 39 percent said their outlook was unchanged.
This was a steep decline from the August poll when 33 percent said they were feeling more optimistic about the future.
In our December survey, 75 percent of participants said that they have received the vaccine. In addition, among those, 50 percent have received a booster shot.
This is a bit better than the count reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that indicates that, as of Dec. 9, 71.5 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and only 26.9 percent of adults have had a booster shot.
Most survey respondents said they did not plan to travel this holiday season, with 66 percent saying they would abstain.
Five percent were not sure whether they would travel.
Among the 29 percent who said they were likely to travel, 46 percent haven’t changed their plans yet but are closely monitoring the situation with COVID-19.
Fifteen percent said they had already canceled or postponed holiday travel plans.
During the survey, readers also expressed several concerns about the Omicron variant.
To help answer the most commonly asked questions, Healthline enlisted the help of Professor Cyrille Cohen, PhD, director of the Immunotherapy Lab at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Fifty-three percent of you wanted to know whether the existing COVID-19 vaccines will do a good job against the new variant.
According to Cohen, we simply don’t know yet.
“The only reliable information we have from South Africa is that it seems Omicron can infect convalescent people at a rate superior than other variants,” he said.
Cohen added that, in his country of Israel, out of 21 verified COVID-19 cases, 13 people were vaccinated and 8 were not. However, he said these numbers are too small for him to draw any valid conclusion.
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However, breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people are possible.
Fifty-two percent of survey participants were concerned about how contagious the new variant might be.
Cohen said it seems to be more contagious than other variants based on the data that is currently available.
He cited estimates that Omicron is anywhere from 30 to 300 percent more contagious than the Delta variant.
According to the
Finally, 51 percent of the people we surveyed wanted to know how severe Omicron’s symptoms are.
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However, Cohen said that right now, Omicron does not seem to be causing more severe disease, which is a good sign.
“So far, the cases observed in Israel do not seem more severe than the other variants we know,” said Cohen.
Medical experts advise against any unnecessary travel this holiday season.
However, if travel is a part of your holiday plans, Melissa Yeager, senior editor at Lonely Planet, advises taking extra precautions before you go.
“Traveling does take a bit more research and a different mindset these days,” she said. “Information changes rapidly, and you have to keep up with news about the virus at home as well as in the destinations you plan to visit.”
She recommends doing the following before you travel:
A nationally representative sample of 1,044 U.S. consumers participated in the survey on Dec. 2 and 3, 2021.
An opt-in panel of screened and verified consumers between the ages of 15 and 72 took part in the survey.
Participants answered questions about Omicron via desktop or their mobile device using the Suzy platform to collect their answers.
They received points redeemable for gift cards in exchange for their time.
The margin of error for this survey is ± 4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
The Credibility Interval is ± 3.5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
We understand that you’re worried about your health and safety away from home and the safety of the communities you’re visiting worldwide. As regulations and requirements for travel shift, we’re here to help you navigate this complex and often confusing landscape. Whether you’re driving to a natural wonder in your state or flying around the globe, we can help you protect yourself and others.
Check back often to learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones on your next journey.
