If you are traveling this Thanksgiving weekend, the New Mexico Department of Health is recommending you take precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID and other diseases.
COVID-19 related hospitalizations in New Mexico have been on the upswing and have about doubled the past month.
Cases of influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV are also on the rise.
The New Mexico Department of Health says getting your vaccine shots is still the best way to prevent or lessen the effects of the viruses.
Acting Cabinet Secretary David Scrase says he strongly recommends wearing a mask if you are traveling by air.
“Airplanes and airports are places where people are coming from all over and (there) is a much higher risk of contracting a virus in being in a closed space for a long period of time independent of that air filtration system in the airport or on the plane,” he said. “I really strongly recommend that particularly if you have grandparents and people coming to visit from out of town and be extra cautious."
AAA predicts 54.6 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving. That’s a 1.5% increase over 2021 and 98% of pre-pandemic volumes. This year is projected to be the third busiest for Thanksgiving travel since AAA started tracking in 2000.
Air travel is up nearly 8% over 2021, with 4.5 million Americans flying to their Thanksgiving destinations this year. That’s an increase of more than 330,000 travelers and nearly 99% of the 2019 volume.