Lots of Fourth of July traveling expected
NEWARK, N.J. — Americans enjoying newfound liberty are expected to travel and gather for cookouts, fireworks, concerts and beach outings over the Fourth of July weekend in numbers not seen since pre-pandemic days.
Yet lingering restrictions, worker shortages and significant numbers of unvaccinated people mean some may not be as free as they would like to be.
And there are fears that the mixing of large numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans at a time when the highly contagious delta variant is spreading rapidly could undo some of the progress made against the scourge.
Nashville is expecting as many as 400,000 people to stream into the city for its July Fourth celebration featuring country star Brad Paisley. In Massachusetts, the Boston Pops' Independence Day concert is back, but the show that usually draws hundreds of thousands to the Charles River esplanade in Boston will be held 100 miles away at the Tanglewood music center.
Beaches and lakefronts are expected to be packed as well. In Southern California, Huntington Beach is planning one of the biggest celebrations on the West Coast, a three-day festival that could bring in a half-million people.
Elizabeth Driscoll plans to enjoy the festivities in Cheboygan, Mich., including a parade down Main Street, a trip to a farmers market and a family party on a lake, all ahead of the fireworks display over the Straits of Mackinac. Last year, the parade and fireworks were canceled.
“You can feel it all over town, just an influx of people on the tourism side, and people who live here are out and about,” she said. “There's good energy.”
At the same time, airlines have been struggling to get enough crew members to fly their planes. Pools and beaches have been hit with a shortage of lifeguards. And restaurants and bars in tourist destinations have had to scale back hours because of a lack of help.
The U.S. is averaging about 12,000 new cases and 250 deaths a day. Two-thirds of the nation's adults have been vaccinated, but vaccine hesitancy remains, especially in the Deep South and West, allowing the delta variant to spread throughout the country.
AAA forecasts that more than 47 million people will travel by car or plane this weekend in the U.S., a return to 2019 levels and 40% higher than last year. That includes 3.5 million airline passengers.
At the Newark, N.J., airport, travelers waited in long check-in lines Wednesday and encountered flight delays that tested their patience. Some were just happy to get on a plane after vacation plans were disrupted last year by COVID-19 restrictions.
Rhetta Williams, a 54-year-old manager at a pharmaceutical company, was traveling to Charleston, S.C., for a family reunion with about 50 relatives. “And we're not going to be practicing any social distancing,” she said, laughing.
While masks have been shed around the country, the Transportation Security Administration emphasizes that they are still required at airports and on planes.
