With spring break approaching, health experts are warning against a possible surge in COVID-19 infections as students enjoy a week of freedom that typically involves travelling to spring break hot spots and partying.
Some have raised concern with people travelling to popular spring break destinations in light of the new variants that have been found slowly circulation in the country.
“You’ve got the B.1.1.7 variant accelerating in Florida. You’ve got all these 20-year-old kids. None of them are going to have masks. They’re all going to be drinking. They’re having pretty close, intimate contact. And then, after that’s all done, they’re going to go back to their home states and spread the B.1.1.7 variant.” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said, adding, “Spring break in Florida could spell disaster for the country.”
The B.1.1.7 variant, which was first discovered in the U.K., has been found to be 59% to 74% more transmissible than the original virus.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also advises Americans: “Don’t travel. We really, really would advocate for not traveling right now.”
Some states have begun rolling back COVID-19 restrictions – including lifting mask mandates. As of Wednesday (March 10), there are 15 fifteen states who do not have statewide mandates for face coverings.
However, health experts caution against doing away with this precaution.
“Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” Dr. Walensky said.
“I am really worried about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from Covid-19,” she said. “Please stay strong in your conviction. Continue wearing your well-fitting mask and taking the other public health prevention actions that we know work.”
“We are not out of the woods. We haven’t reached the end of the pandemic,” Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, said. “It’s counterproductive and truly infuriating these governors are treating this as if the pandemic is over. It’s not true.”
“We could be at the precipice of a fourth surge, and we have a way to prevent it and that’s keeping up our precautions for a while longer,” she continued.
Several studies have shown that masks are the single most effective way to protect yourself and others from contracting the coronavirus – and new data released by the CDC last week suggest that doubling up on face masks can significantly improve protection from the virus. According to the CDC, “Masks are a two-way street. Masks protect you and me.”
Thursday (March 11) will mark one year since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 crisis a pandemic. In less than a year, the world has seen more than 117 Million reported cases of the illness and has lost over 2.6 Million people. The U.S. has had over 29 million cases, which has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 Americans.
WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urges everyone to continue staying vigilant
“Right now, WHO’s focus is on supporting all countries to end the pandemic, including with vaccines and the public health measures that have been the bedrock of the response for 15 months,” Dr. Tedros said during a news briefing in Geneva.
“We have come so far, we have suffered so much, and we have lost so many. We cannot – we must not – squander the progress we have made,” he continues. “We have the tools to control the pandemic, but we can only do it if we use them consistently and equitably.”
“Science, solutions and solidarity remain our guide. There are no short cuts,” he added.
