Greetings from home! On Monday, June 22, the TSA screened 607,540 individuals at security checkpoints nationwide, topping the 600,000 mark for the first time in months. The last time throughput was higher than 600,000 was March 19th. That’s good news for travel and tourism.

Unfortunately, that’s not the only number that’s going up in the USA. Covid19 cases are increasing at an alarming rate. According to the Washington Post, “across the United States, 38,115 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday — surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25. Texas, Florida and California led the way, with all three states reporting more than 5,000 new cases apiece.”

The EU May Ban US Travelers
It’s no wonder then that the European Union and other countries may ban travel from the US as it reopens borders.

NY, NJ, Conn. Direct Out-of-State Travelers to Quarantine Because of COVID-19
Countries aren’t the only ones wanting to ban Americans. In a full 180, NY, NJ and my childhood state of Connecticut are now requiring residents of some states to adhere to a 14-day quarantine. If you remember just a few months ago, the opposite was happening. “Cuomo said the order will apply to travelers from states that have identified 10 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 for every 100,000 residents on a seven-day rolling average. As of Wednesday, that applied to eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington and Utah, according to Cuomo.”

Disneyland to Delay Reopening Theme Parks and Resort Hotels
Disneyland (that’s the Disney park in California) is delaying its reopening since the spread in California has gotten out of control. “The State of California has now indicated that it will not issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4,” Disney said in a statement. “Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials.”

Hawaii Opens to Visitors Testing Negative for Covid-19
Good news for those wanting to go to the Aloha State: “Starting Aug. 1, visitors can avoid the 14-day quarantine if they get pre-tested for COVID-19 no more than 72 hours before their departure from home and present negative results when they arrive at the airport in Hawaii.”

Nevada Issues New Face Mask Order: Las Vegas Visitors Must Now Cover Up
California isn’t the only one tightening up restrictions. In a smart move by Nevada, they’re now requiring everyone to mask up – including Vegas casinos. “Las Vegas visitors, get ready to cover up. Travelers and residents in Nevada are now required to wear masks when they are indoors in a public place. That means visitors to the city’s dozens of hotel-casinos must wear face coverings, except when eating or drinking.”

I Interviewed A Plane Cleaner For My Podcast
My buddy Paul Thompson (@FlyingPhotog), who is a 19-year airline industry veteran, having worked in customer relations, air cargo, training and federal compliance, is a ramp agent at Denver International Airport. He’s been helping clean the interiors of planes during COVID-19 so I asked him to be a guest on my new travel podcast (please subscribe). I asked Paul all kinds of questions like: How do you clean the airplanes? Do you think it’s enough? Are they doing more now than before? Would you fly and put your kids on a plane right now? We also talked about de-icing planes since he’s based at DEN.

Has Anyone Who’s Flown Recently Tested Positive for Coronavirus?
A Twitter follower of mine asked if I knew anyone who has flown recently and tested positive for Coronavirus. It’s a great question and I know it’s almost impossible to find out where people contracted the virus but has anyone traveled by plane and not gotten sick? I know part of the problem is many people who get COVID-19 don’t even know it but it would be interesting to find out.

AAA Summer Forecasts: The Summer of Road Trips
“This summer, AAA forecasts Americans will take 700 million trips based on economic indicators and state re-openings. That number is down nearly 15% compared to last July through September and is the first decline in summer travel since 2009. AAA booking trends show Americans are making travel plans, though cautiously and more spur of the moment. Car trips reign supreme accounting for 97% of the favored mode of transportation. Car trips will also see the smallest decrease in travel volume of just 3% year-over-year. Air travel will be off by about 74%, while rail, cruise ship and bus travel will slide by 86%.

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Random AA Stat
Twitter use @JonNYC who has an inside connection to American Airlines tweeted these interesting stats the other day. AA Loads on Monday (June 22) were as follows:
CLT 76% (international only 51%)
ORD 72% (international only 31%)
DFW 75% (international only 45%)
As you can see, the planes are going out relatively full domestically because they cut so many flights but the international flights are wide open.

COVID-19 Essentials Pop-Up Offers In-Demand Supplies For Pandemic in One Place
If you’re in Miami here’s a store that might be popping up in a mall near you. “COVID-19 Essentials. No, we’re not about to list off a bunch of items. COVID-19 Essentials is the actual name of a new pop-up store in Aventura. They carry every kind of mask you can imagine and will even custom make them for you. They also carry blacklights, hand sanitizers and everything else. Just in time as Christmas is six months from TODAY!

One Reason To Wear A Mask
I can think of dozens of reasons why we all need to wear a mask (it’s just common sense.) I’ve been wearing one whenever I was sick and needed to be somewhere for years, if not decades. Now, I wear one to protect others, especially the vulnerable, like my elderly dad. If everyone followed the guidelines we wouldn’t be in the situation the U.S.A. is in right now (we’re the laughing stock of the world). Some Americans think wearing a mask takes away their freedom, which is insane, because wearing a mask would protect all the freedoms that life in quarantine has taken away. Also, now, other countries and US states are restricting our freedom by not letting us in unless we quarantine.

What It’s Like To Be Put On A Ventilator
Just when I was about to get on a plane, I had numerous doctors tell me I’m crazy. If I were single, I might take the chance but I simply can’t now as a father of little ones unless I absolutely had to. After reading this Facebook post about what it’s like to be on a ventilator, I think I won’t risk it. FYI: I’ve had multiple friends put on a ventilator in the last few months and they survived. My Uncle George (my dad’s younger brother) wasn’t put on one but died of COVID-19 by himself in a NJ hospital. “For those people who don’t understand what it means to be on a ventilator but want to take the chance of going out without a mask… For starters, it’s NOT an oxygen mask put over the mouth while the patient is comfortably lying down and reading magazines. Ventilation for COVID-19 is a painful intubation that goes down your throat and stays there until you live or you die. It is done under anesthesia for 2 to 3 weeks without moving, often upside down, with a tube inserted from the mouth up to the trachea and allows you to breathe to the rhythm of the lung machine. The patient can’t talk or eat, or do anything naturally – the machine keeps you alive.” Here’s the rest of the post.

THIS WEEK’S TRAVEL NEWS

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