Increased traveling and spring break crowds are making US health experts nervous. Here’s why

Video above: Spring break crowds pack Miami Beach streets despite curfewsMore than a million passengers have traveled through U.S. airports daily for at least 10 days in a row, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration — at a time experts say cases of a dangerous variant are climbing across the country. On Friday alone, the country saw more than 1.4 million passengers in airports nationwide — which is a pandemic-era record.”What we’re doing is essentially spreading the B.1.1.7 variant across the nation,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN on Sunday.Some travelers have landed in popular spring break destinations like Florida, where local officials say the vacationers have been more than they can handle. On Saturday, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber declared a state of emergency and set a curfew, telling CNN too many people were coming “without the intention of following the rules, and the result has been a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure.”Florida has so far reported the highest number of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant — which experts say is highly contagious and potentially more deadly — in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”I wish that folks would at least mask up,” emergency physician Dr. Megan Ranney told CNN Sunday, referring to the spring break crowds. “I expect that very few of those young adults have been vaccinated and watching them gather together in those crowds, even outside, gives me fear that they’re going to bring that B.1.1.7 variant back to their home state and spread it.”Other experts have voiced the same concern, warning all the returning vacationers could help fuel COVID-19 surges in other parts of the country, especially now that vaccination numbers are still so low. About 13.3% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.The CDC currently continues to recommend that Americans delay travel. And earlier this month, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned that every time travel escalates, a spike in infections tend to follow, citing July 4, Labor Day and the winter holiday season.”We are very worried about transmissible variants. A lot of them have come through our travel corridors, so we’re being extra cautious right now with travel,” Walensky had told CNN. Could US see another surge?The spread of variants, in combination with the still small percentage of fully vaccinated Americans, is why experts have stressed state leaders should not be lifting COVID-19 measures just yet — and Americans should be doubling down on what helps curb the spread of the virus: wearing face masks, avoiding crowds, social distancing and regular washing hands.But while at least a dozen governors have eased restrictions this month and cases across the U.S. are no longer seeing the steep declines recorded earlier this year, one expert says it’s unlikely the U.S. will see another COVID-19 surge.That’s because the number of prior infections and now vaccinations in the U.S. have begun to form “enough of a backstop” to prevent another spike, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CBS on Sunday.”I think what you could see is a plateauing for a period of time before we continue on a downward decline — in large part because B.1.1.7 is becoming more prevalent, in large part because we’re pulling back too quickly, with respect to taking off our masks and lifting the mitigation,” he said.But other experts have said that plateauing of cases the US is reporting could serve as a predictor for another surge. Emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN last week she believes the U.S. could be on the cusp of another surge. Others say it’s hard to predict what will happen.”It’s very hard to say,” Hotez told CNN. “We’re in a race, that’s what it comes down to. We’ve gotten a single dose (of COVID-19 vaccine) into about a quarter of the U.S. population … and it could go either way right now.””This is why it’s really important for the governors to stay the course and to implement masks and social distancing,” he added.

Video above: Spring break crowds pack Miami Beach streets despite curfews

More than a million passengers have traveled through U.S. airports daily for at least 10 days in a row, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration — at a time experts say cases of a dangerous variant are climbing across the country.

On Friday alone, the country saw more than 1.4 million passengers in airports nationwide — which is a pandemic-era record.

“What we’re doing is essentially spreading the B.1.1.7 variant across the nation,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN on Sunday.

Some travelers have landed in popular spring break destinations like Florida, where local officials say the vacationers have been more than they can handle.

On Saturday, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber declared a state of emergency and set a curfew, telling CNN too many people were coming “without the intention of following the rules, and the result has been a level of chaos and disorder that is just something more than we can endure.”

Florida has so far reported the highest number of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant — which experts say is highly contagious and potentially more deadly — in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“I wish that folks would at least mask up,” emergency physician Dr. Megan Ranney told CNN Sunday, referring to the spring break crowds. “I expect that very few of those young adults have been vaccinated and watching them gather together in those crowds, even outside, gives me fear that they’re going to bring that B.1.1.7 variant back to their home state and spread it.”

Other experts have voiced the same concern, warning all the returning vacationers could help fuel COVID-19 surges in other parts of the country, especially now that vaccination numbers are still so low. About 13.3% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.

The CDC currently continues to recommend that Americans delay travel. And earlier this month, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky warned that every time travel escalates, a spike in infections tend to follow, citing July 4, Labor Day and the winter holiday season.

“We are very worried about transmissible variants. A lot of them have come through our travel corridors, so we’re being extra cautious right now with travel,” Walensky had told CNN.

Could US see another surge?

The spread of variants, in combination with the still small percentage of fully vaccinated Americans, is why experts have stressed state leaders should not be lifting COVID-19 measures just yet — and Americans should be doubling down on what helps curb the spread of the virus: wearing face masks, avoiding crowds, social distancing and regular washing hands.

But while at least a dozen governors have eased restrictions this month and cases across the U.S. are no longer seeing the steep declines recorded earlier this year, one expert says it’s unlikely the U.S. will see another COVID-19 surge.

That’s because the number of prior infections and now vaccinations in the U.S. have begun to form “enough of a backstop” to prevent another spike, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CBS on Sunday.

“I think what you could see is a plateauing for a period of time before we continue on a downward decline — in large part because B.1.1.7 is becoming more prevalent, in large part because we’re pulling back too quickly, with respect to taking off our masks and lifting the mitigation,” he said.

But other experts have said that plateauing of cases the US is reporting could serve as a predictor for another surge. Emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN last week she believes the U.S. could be on the cusp of another surge.

Others say it’s hard to predict what will happen.

“It’s very hard to say,” Hotez told CNN. “We’re in a race, that’s what it comes down to. We’ve gotten a single dose (of COVID-19 vaccine) into about a quarter of the U.S. population … and it could go either way right now.”

“This is why it’s really important for the governors to stay the course and to implement masks and social distancing,” he added.

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