Americans have been advised against travelling for Thanksgiving as the number of people hospitalised with the virus in the US reached record levels this week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it is giving a “strong recommendation” for Americans not to travel to see family for the national holiday next Thursday.
CDC official Dr Henry Walke told reporters on a call that there is “no more important time than now for each and every American to redouble our efforts to watch our distance, wash our hands and, most importantly, wear a mask”.
He said: “For Americans who decide to travel, CDC recommends doing so as safely as possible by following the same recommendations for everyday living.”
It comes as the number of people in the hospital with Covid-19 in the US doubled in the past month and set new records every day this week. As of Tuesday, nearly 77,000 were hospitalised with the virus.
Coronavirus cases are on the rise in all 50 states with deaths are averaging more than 1,155 per day - the highest in months.
New York City’s school system suspended in-person classes on Wednesday amid a mounting infection rate.
Texas is rushing thousands of additional medical staff to overworked hospitals as the number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients statewide accelerated toward 8,000 for the first time since a deadly summer outbreak.
More than 5,400 extra medical personnel have been deployed around Texas by the state alone, said Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
In Idaho, doctors warned that hospitals have almost reached the point where they need to ration care, unable to treat everyone because there are not enough beds or staffers to go around.
“Never in my career did I think we would even contemplate the idea of rationing care in the United States of America,” said Dr Jim Souza, chief medical officer for St Luke’s Health System.
Additional reporting by Associated Press.
