Tag Archives: Christmas

Travel

3 of 4 Southern Californians canceled vacation travel plans – CBS Los Angeles | Instant News


LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – As a regional stay-at-home order stretches beyond vacations, travel is expected to drop significantly this season compared to last year. More than 76% of Southern Californians plan to stay home during the holidays this year, according to the American Automobile Association, or AAA. Travel by car will fall by more than 34%, according to AAA. Air transport will decrease by at least 54%. Other modes of transport, such as buses and trains, will be down by at least 87%, AAA said. For those who did not cancel their trip, people said they plan to distance themselves socially, wear masks and do what they can to stay safe when traveling out of state. Governor Gavin Newsom’s regional stay order for the 11-county area of ​​Southern California, which went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on December 6, was originally scheduled to expire on December 28. Newsom announced this week that the order would be extended beyond the original end date, although it did not say exactly how long the order would remain in effect. The Southern California region that falls under the Stay-at-Home Order includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. More broadly, the order prohibits gatherings of people from different households. .



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Travel

Today is America’s busiest travel day of the year – NBC Boston | Instant News


Maybe people suffer from COVID fatigue, maybe people miss seeing other people. The reasons are not clear. But nearly half of Americans polled say they feel it’s safe enough to travel more today than it was three months ago. In fact, 28% of Americans will hit the road today, the busiest departure day of the year. It turns out that Americans are actually more confident in travel than the rest of the world, according to a new TripAdvisor survey. About 55% of Americans plan to travel this holiday season, compared to about 30% of people globally. Additionally, 70% of Americans will travel to their vacation destination, while 19% will fly. Air travel, while down overall, is up 7% from Thanksgiving. According to the TSA, officers screened more than 1.06 million people at airport checkpoints across the country on Friday. The last time they sawed off those numbers was on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Around 45% visit family, while 39% take some rest and relaxation and go on vacation. Like Thanksgiving, however, vacation travel in December is down (20%) from 2019. The busiest return day will be Sunday, December 27, with 20% of travelers returning home. .



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Travel

State seeks to restrict Christmas travel | State | Instant News


ANNAPOLIS – New state emergency orders and government COVID-19 warnings seek to restrict and discourage Christmas travel and gatherings. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan issued new travel orders on Thursday, December 17, along with new state warnings against the public and private in the run-up to Christmas. Hogan joins Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in warning against vacation travel and family reunions, fearing they could lead to more reported cases of COVID-19. Previous warnings issued by Fauci, Hogan and others to avoid Thanksgiving trips and gatherings. The new orders and warnings also come despite Maryland having the eighth lowest positivity rate for COVID testing and the ninth lowest coronavirus cases per capita in the United States. a new travel order “requiring Marylanders to limit all travel to essential purposes only.” e as well as visitors to the state to “test negative for COVID-19 or self-quarantine for 10 days.” The new Christmas travel order does not apply to those traveling to or from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C. DCHogan has said he hopes for public cooperation with the travel orders. ordinance lists the violation as a misdemeanor with penalties of up to one year in jail and fines of up to $ 5,000. statewide – were deployed ahead of Thanksgiving to conduct compliance checks at restaurants, bars and other establishments to ensure they were obeying state COVID orders, and were also tasked with improving the application of state mandates on masks and social distancing. also issued a new notice against Christmas and holiday gatherings. The state’s notice warns Marylanders against “all non-essential vacation gatherings with people outside of one’s immediate home.” The state also told Marylanders not to attend public or private gatherings of more than 10 people. Companies that resist or disobey pandemic orders. The governor said the purpose of the new Christmas warnings was to reduce potential increases in COVID-19 cases. “Our message today is simple: You are safer at home for this year’s vacation. Making difficult sacrifices over the next few weeks will absolutely help keep your family, loved ones and compatriots in Maryland safe, ”Hogan said. The measures also come as the state rolls out the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The governor called the Maryland National Guard to assist with the state’s mass vaccination plans. .



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Travel

Strict Christmas travel ban for Scotland as Wales enters early lockdown | UK News | Instant News



There will be a strict travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK throughout the holiday season, and the five-day Christmas window for indoor mixing will be reduced to Christmas Day, said Nicola Sturgeon . In Wales, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford also ditched festive relaxation plans for all but Christmas Day and advanced the country’s lockdown which will now begin at midnight on Saturday. The near-lockdown Level 4 restrictions will go into effect for all of mainland Scotland from Boxing Day for three weeks, with the closure of non-essential shops and hotels. Sturgeon also announced a phased return to school for students, with classes online only January 11-18, with the exception of the children of core workers who can return on January 5. Speaking to the media and the public after an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday afternoon, the Scottish Prime Minister stressed that – although the situation is not yet as dire as in England and Wales – he it remained essential to act on a preventive basis. Sturgeon said the information she discussed in cabinet about the impact of the new strain of the virus suggested it was “possibly the most serious and dangerous time” since the start of the pandemic. Seventeen cases of the new variant have now been identified across Scotland, but she said this was likely an understatement of its prevalence. Sturgeon, who has taken an ever more cautious approach to Christmas advice, said the new restrictions were designed to prevent more of the new strain from entering Scotland and to reduce the risk of spread in the country. The party bubble remains at a limit of eight people from three households, with a strong recommendation to keep it as small as possible. She urged people not to meet other households indoors at Christmas if they can avoid it. Travel to Scotland will only be allowed on Christmas Day and she is reportedly asking Scottish police to consider how to enforce the ban on cross-border travel. Sturgeon said, “Standing here saying that makes me want to cry because I know how hard it sounds… but this virus is unfair.” She said she understood people would be looking at Scotland’s case numbers and wondering if this immediate tightening of restrictions was necessary. “This new strain spreads so quickly that it will overwhelm us very quickly,” she said. .



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