Airline passenger screenings in the United States have fallen to the lowest level since May as travelers appeared to be concerned about an increase in coronavirus infections from the Delta variant, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2021) Airline passenger screenings in the United States have fallen to the lowest level since May as travelers appeared to be concerned about an increase in coronavirus infections from the Delta variant, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said on Wednesday.
"TSA screened 1,345,064 people at airport security checkpoints yesterday, Tuesday, August 31," TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said via Twitter.
TSA data reveal it was the lowest number of people cleared for travel through US airports since May 11.
The drop was dramatic from mid July when passenger check-ins crossed the 2 million daily mark for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Then, many felt encouraged to travel amid a surge in vaccinations and a visibly reduced threat in new infections from the virus.
However, in the two months that followed, a new spike in infections and even deaths had been reported amid the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant. As of Wednesday, hospitalizations due to the virus reached a daily average of 100,000 for the first time since last winter's surge.
The decrease in screenings was reported as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky cautioned that unvaccinated Americans on Wednesday to avoid travel during the upcoming Labor Day holiday on September 6.
About 52 percent of the US population, or 174 million people, is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to CDC data. Among those who are over 12 years old and eligible to be vaccinated, almost 73 percent of the population, or 205 million people have received at least one dose of the available vaccines.
