WACO, TX – With just two days left until Christmas, local doctors are warning the community about the potential dangers of holiday travel in the COVID-19 era.
“Individuals who are planning to travel and the family gatherings that individuals are planning yields a concerning risk to spread among vulnerable adults and concern that hospitals could even exceed capacity in mid to late January,” Dr. Jackson Griggs of the Family Health Center said.
There have already 53 COVID-related deaths in McLennan County in December, more than any other month since the pandemic started.
Doctors estimate the death toll could be in the seventies in January if this trend continues.
“Please be careful over the holidays,” Dr. Umad Ahmad of Baylor Scott and White said. “This holiday is going to make or break us over the near future and while vaccination is a glimmer of hope and we are excited about the vaccinations, we hope that you be smart.”
Advice from local medical professionals makes the Christmas movie “Home Alone” look well ahead of its time.
“The CDC recommends the safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is at home with the people who live with you,” Griggs said. “That certainly is the best advice.”
For those who can’t break their family traditions, there is a simple compromise.
“Everybody makes their own choice, choose to wear a mask as you’re gathering unless you’re eating,” Dr. Farley Varner said. “Do at least that much.”
