Educators Concerned About Families Traveling With February Vacation Underway
BOSTON (CBS) – February vacation is underway in Massachusetts, and people from health officials to school administrators are urging families to approach to the time off with caution to prevent a rise in COVID cases.
According to the TSA, there were more than one million people getting on flights Friday alone.
The president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association said recently that educators are anxious about this week, mainly because of new COVID variants.
Jeffrey Riley, commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education told families last week they should do whatever they can to limit travel.
The concern stems from spikes in coronavirus cases seen after Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks that prevented schools from being able to open up more robustly.
Health experts recommend anyone taking a trip this week only travel with your immediate household to limit exposure, and wear masks while doing so.
"The idea now is to do this as safely as possible, mitigate the risk as much as possible," said Brigham and Women's Hospital Dr. Dr. Abraar Karan. "We're moving forward on our vaccination campaign. That's really important, where our focus should be. And we know a lot more about the virus than we did before, so there are ways to socialize more safely."
If you are leaving Massachusetts, the state's travel orders still apply when you get back.
Some schools are taking extra precautions. Hanover Public Schools requires that all children 11 and older must take a PCR test and send results to the school nurse before they'll be allowed back.
