Even with all the warnings, more passengers were trapped at airports Sunday than any day since the coronavirus pandemic began. Millions of people traveled, despite the upsurge after Thanksgiving that overwhelmed California hospitals.
About 1.3 million passengers passed through airport security, according to the Transport Security Administration. The pressure of holidaymakers is raising fears of another increase in coronavirus cases.
“I think we are now in a viral tsunami,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said. “It’s just coming. It’s flooding. ‘
Kim-Farley fears the following. If there is a boom on top of a boom, ‘your hospitals are overloaded, your intensive care units become unavailable,’ he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has issued a dumb warning about the consequences of New Year’s Eve celebrations. “It’s a choice you can make to save lives or take lives,” he said.
Although U.S. health officials promised 20 million doses of vaccine by the end of the year, only 11.4 million had been distributed and 2.1 million people had received the first dose of the vaccine.
In New York, officials are investigating reports that a clinic fraudulently obtained the vaccine and distributed it through the state. Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that anyone who violates state rules on the priority of the vaccine could lose their license and face a $ 1 million fine.
“We want to send a clear signal to the providers that if you break the law on these vaccinations, we will find out and you will be prosecuted,” Cuomo said.
In Florida, hundreds of elderly people camped overnight for the vaccine from Moderna Inc. to receive. In California, the outbreak is so severe that the U.S. military is sending dozens of doctors and nurses to help.
“We will take care of you. We will find places. We will put you in the hallways. We will put you in conference rooms. But ask yourself, is a bed in a conference room as good as the bed in a regular room? I do not think so, “said Dr. Vanessa Walker, a leading doctor in California, said.
The coronavirus has now killed one in every 1,000 Americans.
There is also growing concern about a new type of virus in the UK that looks more contagious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now requires passengers arriving from the UK to show negative test results before boarding a plane to the US.