COLUMBUS – The coronavirus is keeping three-quarters of Ohioans at home this Christmas.
After 11 years of year-end holiday travel growth, the AAA auto club predicts 1.4 million fewer Ohioans will travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3, a decline of at least 30% from last year, said Kimberly Schwind, senior public affairs manager for AAA Ohio Auto Club.
Nationwide, the auto club says 34 million fewer Americans will travel for the Christmas-New Year’s holiday than last year, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 300,000 lives.
Schwind says those who do travel should check with state and local officials along their route and at your destination to learn about restrictions that may be in place. Many localities are requiring COVID-19 testing prior to and after travel.
This includes what is expected of travelers when they return home, she said. Ohioans traveling to 15 states are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days when they return.
The pandemic has already impacted travel in Ohio for the holidays. Schwind says traffic count data from the Ohio Department of Transportation indicates traffic volume across the state was down an average of 20% during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, compared to 2019. That includes a 34% drop on Thanksgiving Day as Ohioans heeded warnings from state and national health officials to stay home to avoid spreading the coronavirus.
Although the first batches of the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine began arriving at hospitals nationwide Monday, the specter of the pandemic is also affecting travel projections for the new year.
Fifty-six percent of Ohioans say they remain somewhat or very uncomfortable with traveling in 2021, citing the COVID-19 virus as the top reason they are planning to stay home, though 59% say they are considering taking a vacation that includes an overnight stay away from home next year, Schwind said.