WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged the public to avoid traveling and not stay home during the Christmas holidays to curb the further spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“Travel can increase your chances of spreading and getting COVID-19. The CDC still recommends postponing travel and staying at home, because this is the best way to protect yourself and others this year,” the CDC said in its latest advisor.
The safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is to stay at home with the people who live with you, it adds.
“Host a virtual holiday meal with friends and family, gather for a virtual gift exchange, decorate your home or make festive crafts,” the CDC said.
The recommendation came as the country continues to record increasing cases of COVID-19, deaths and hospitalizations.
According to the CDC, over 1,511,000 cases have been reported in the United States over the past seven days.
A total of 183,927 new cases and 1,725 deaths were reported nationwide on Monday, according to data updated by the CDC on Tuesday.
The seven-day average of new daily cases now stood at nearly 216,000, and the seven-day average of deaths exceeded 2,600, according to the CDC.
According to the latest data from the COVID Monitoring Project, there are currently a record 117,777 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States.
The country launched a vaccine campaign against COVID-19 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two emergency vaccines.
The United States recorded over 18.2 million cases Tuesday night with more than 322,500 deaths, according to a real-time count conducted by Johns Hopkins University. Endemic