Even with all the warnings, more passengers blocked airports on Sunday than on any day since the coronavirus pandemic began. Millions of people traveled in contempt of the post-Thanksgiving wave that swept across California hospitals.
About 1.3 million passengers have passed through airport security, most since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The crushing of holiday travelers causes fears of a new wave of 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. “It’s just coming. It’s flooding.”
Kim-Farley is afraid of what’s next. If there is an increase in addition to an increase, “your hospitals are overloaded, the beds of intensive care units become unavailable,” he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had a direct warning about the consequences of the New Year’s Eve celebration. “It’s a choice you can make that will either save lives or take lives,” he said.
Although US health officials promised 20 million doses of vaccine by the end of the year, only 11.4 million were distributed and 2.1 million people received the first dose of vaccine.
In New York, officials are investigating reports that a clinic “fraudulently obtained” the vaccine and distributed it throughout the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that anyone who violates state rules on vaccine prioritization could lose their license and receive a $ 1 million fine.
“We want to send a clear signal to 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 seniors camped overnight to receive the Moderna Inc. vaccine. In California, the outbreak is so severe that the US military is sending dozens of doctors and nurses to help.
“We’ll take care of you. We’ll find seats. We’ll put you in the hallways. We’ll put you in conference rooms. But ask yourself, is a bed in a conference room as good as the usual patient’s room bed? “I don’t think so,” said Dr. Vanessa Walker, a leading physician in California.
The coronavirus has now killed one in 1,000 Americans.
There is also growing concern about a new strain of the virus in the UK that appears to be more contagious. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now requires passengers coming from the UK to test negative before boarding a plane to the US