Page 2 - aruba-today-20201224

A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 24 december 2020

about five months ago and heading back to work. Janeen Pierre was juggling
was trying to maintain their Joan Crunk, 75, and her a pile of luggage Tuesday
relationship. husband, Jim, 80, of Grand- and getting her two little
Before flying, Lopez took a view, Missouri, were at the girls to the bathroom at the
COVID-19 test that came Kansas City airport Tues- Charlotte, North Carolina,
back negative. But the two day, waiting to pick up airport before they board-
planes she took offered their daughter and son-in- ed their flight to Orlando,
little room for social dis- law, who were flying in from Florida.
tancing. Some passengers Savannah, Georgia, and Pierre and her husband had
removed their masks to eat planned to stay with them planned to spend Christ-
or drink. And not everyone until Jan. 2. It had been a mas on a Disney cruise, but
used wipes that airlines of- year since they had seen the pandemic changed
fer to sanitize armrests and each other. their itinerary to ringing in
trays. Her layover at Chi- Joan Crunk said they talk- the holidays at Disney's
A traveler stands in front of a flight information board at San
Francisco International Airport during the coronavirus pandem- cago's O'Hare Airport was ed a lot about whether to theme parks instead.
ic in San Francisco, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020. equally unsettling, she said. gather. "Disney refunded all of
Associated Press It was packed with people "It is very hard, and we are our money, but American
and felt hot from too many older. My husband is 80. Airlines did not. So we're
Continued from Font the nationwide surge. bodies. Some people wore There is no guarantee from going to have a very Dis-
That is down around 60% Michelle Lopez wondered their masks below their one year to the next," she ney Christmas," she said,
from the same time last if she made the right deci- noses. In the bathrooms, said as "Silver Bells" played adding that her girls could
year. But it amounts to sion after flying from Hous- not everyone washed their over the airport speakers. barely contain their excite-
around a million passengers ton to Norfolk, Virginia, hands for at least 20 sec- U.S. Surgeon General Je- ment about visiting Cinder-
per day, or about what the where her boyfriend serves onds, Lopez said. rome Adams encouraged ella's Castle.
U.S. saw in the days leading in the Navy. She works as a medical as- people to celebrate only Still, she said, "With the new
up to Thanksgiving, when "I didn't want to go, but sistant in a doctor's office. with people in their house- strains coming out, I don't
some Americans likewise I haven't seen him in so She will have to quarantine holds, but added that if know if this is the smartest
disregarded warnings and long," said the 24-year-old, for 10 days at home and they can't follow the guid- idea." Doreen Lindsay, a
ended up contributing to who last saw her boyfriend get tested again before ance, they should take pre- 48-year-old doctor, was on
cautions, such as ensuring a layover in Atlanta, travel-
good home ventilation. ing home to Memphis, Ten-
"We can't let fatigue cause nessee, from the San Diego
us to make poor decisions area, where she worked
this holiday season that with COVID-19 patients in a
end up making us back- field hospital. She planned
track, especially when we to be with her son for the
are so incredibly close to holidays.
getting ourselves and ev- "It's my son and myself, real-
eryone else across the fin- ly. It's he and I. We've been
ish line," he said, referring to through so much. And he's
the start of COVID-19 vac- excited. Can you believe
cinations. it? An 18-year-old man
Overall, the AAA project- happy to have his mom
ed that about 85 million coming home," she said.
people will travel between Lindsey said workers at the
Wednesday and Jan. 3, field hospital were isolated
most of them by car. That when they completed the
would be a drop of nearly assignment and were test-
a one-third from a year ed regularly, including up
ago but still a big number in to four times in a span of
the middle of a pandemic. four days before leaving.q

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

The Aruba Today Newspaper announces that due to
the holidays, we will not be in circulation on Friday, De-
cember 25th, 2020 or Saturday, December 26th, 2020.
We will be back on newsstands everywhere bright and
early to serve our readers and advertisers first thing
in the morning, Monday, December 28th, 2020. Until
then: Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays from the
team at the Aruba Today Newspaper and the entire
staff at Caribbean Speed Printing (CSP).