- The head of the CDC warned against a COVID-19 surge during the spring break.
- The U.S. had more air travelers on Friday than on any other day in the past year.
- “All in the context of still 50,000 cases a day,” said dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said she was “pleading for the country’s health” after more than 1.3 million Americans traveled by air on Friday, most during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s all in the context of another 50,000 cases a day,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said at a press conference on Monday.
Some Americans enjoyed their spring break “masklessly,” she said.
Her comments come after the Transportation Security Administration on Friday recorded more than 1.3 million Americans passing through security at the airport.
The average daily number of cases of new coronavirus reported in the US fell below 50,000 last week for the first time since October. The current figure is more than 53,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Walensky said the US was just starting ‘to make a turn’, with the data moving in the ‘right direction’. She said the way forward depends on what people have done to protect themselves and others, including public health precautions and getting a vaccine when offered.
“I plead with you for the sake of the health of our country. These should be warning signs for all of us,” Walensky said.
“Cases climbed last spring. They climbed again in the summer. They will climb now if we stop taking precautions.”
The United States has recorded more than 29 million cases of coronavirus and more than 535,000 deaths per Johns Hopkins.