November 25, 2020 at 12:23 AM EST
Head home or hunker down? The Thanksgiving covid dilemma.
By Marc Fisher, Victoria St. Martin and Lori Rozsa
In any year, Thanksgiving can be trying, as families gather in close quarters with plenty of alcohol and intergenerational friction. Add an out-of-control virus, a recession that has left millions without work and a nation bitterly divided over the outcome of this month’s presidential election, and Thanksgiving 2020 is pushing holiday jitters to a new high.
With the daily tally of coronavirus cases skyrocketing nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned against traveling and gathering in large groups. Americans are responding with their now-accustomed discord. About 6 in 10 plan to celebrate with fewer people this year because of the pandemic, according to a Marist Poll survey in which 74 percent of Democrats and 39 percent of Republicans said they were shrinking their holiday gatherings.
Thanksgiving travel is clearly down, but roads and airports are by no means empty. AAA estimates that holiday traffic will decline by only about 10 percent this year.