ORLANDO, Fla. – The nation’s top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday to avoid traveling for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household.
About 1 million Americans a day packed airports and planes over the weekend ahead of the holiday even as coronavirus deaths surged across the U.S. and public health experts begged people to stay home and avoid big gatherings.
And the crowds are only expected to grow. Next Sunday is likely to be the busiest day of the holiday period.
[TRENDING: Puppy pried from gator’s mouth doing OK | Large shark swims next to clueless swimmer | COVID-19 vaccines: What’s the difference?]
“The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household,” she said.
Many travelers are unwilling to miss out on seeing family and are convinced they can do it safely. Also, many colleges have ended their in-person classes, propelling students to return home.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans not to travel or spend the holiday with people outside their household.
If families do decide to include returning college students, military members or others for turkey and stuffing, the CDC is recommending that the hosts take added precautions: Gatherings should be outdoors if possible, with people keeping 6 feet apart and wearing masks and just one person serving the food.
Below is information provided by the Florida Department of Health for Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 8,376 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the state’s overall total to 961,676 cases since March.
Deaths
The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday reported 99 people have recently died from COVID-19. As of Wednesday’s coronavirus report, a total of 18,482 deaths across the state have been related to the coronavirus, a number that includes 228 non-resident deaths in Florida.
State health officials have always maintained that virus fatalities are often delayed in being reported to the FDOH, with some deaths not reported for a month or more.
Hospitalizations
Currently, there are 3,723 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration. The Florida DOH reported 306 newly hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Positivity rate
The percent of positive results ranged from 6.67% to 10.06% over the past two weeks and was 7.10% Tuesday.
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports more than 8,500 new coronavirus infections as state nears 1 million mark]
Below is a breakdown of the coronavirus numbers across the 10-county Central Florida region for Nov. 25:
| County | Cases | New Cases | Hospitalizations | New Hospitalizations | Deaths | New Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 14,981 | 170 | 1,179 | 23 | 434 | 2 |
| Flagler | 2,621 | 16 | 190 | 3 | 42 | 0 |
| Lake | 10,273 | 65 | 817 | 8 | 250 | 2 |
| Marion | 12,628 | 49 | 1,155 | 2 | 377 | 0 |
| Orange | 55,966 | 440 | 1,759 | 4 | 635 | 0 |
| Osceola | 17,553 | 111 | 938 | 5 | 240 | 1 |
| Polk | 26,833 | 142 | 2,847 | 12 | 671 | 2 |
| Seminole | 12,387 | 64 | 809 | 4 | 268 | 1 |
| Sumter | 3,353 | 12 | 316 | 2 | 92 | 0 |
| Volusia | 15,609 | 201 | 1,070 | 6 | 362 | 2 |
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter and go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.