Covid Strikes Thanksgiving

Recently, we've heard from health officials encouraging folks not to travel during the usual Thanksgiving Holiday Season.  It looks like most Americans are listening.  The good news is that it looks like they'll be a lot less people traveling on airplanes or in cars rushing to and from their relatives homes.

AAA Idaho says that travel will be reduced to levels of the Great Recession in a news release.  The group predicts that the travel schedule will end 11 straight years of travel growth.  The Thanksgiving Holiday season is defined from Wednesday November 25th to Sunday November 29th.

AAA reminds travelers that staying home and avoiding large-group gatherings is the best way to prevent the spread of sickness.  Those who make the very personal decision to travel should exercise special caution.

“Conditions are changing rapidly, so we would expect most Thanksgiving travel this year to involve shorter distances and the flexibility that you get with a last-minute road trip,” says Matthew Conde, public affairs director for AAA Idaho.  “A common theme will be ‘wait and see,’ but some people who have been separated from family for months will decide that this is the time to get together.”

The reduced travel should afford great deals on flights, hotels and rental cars during this usually busy time of year.  Gas prices in Idaho and across the country continue to be at or near record lows.  Some states have begun to impose travel restrictions which will keep gas prices low due to reduced demand.