ST. LOUIS — On Thursday, CDC officials warned Americans not to travel over Thanksgiving due to the risk posed by coronavirus.
Still, many people will likely take the chance.
If people get a negative COVID-19 test this weekend, does that mean they can safely travel and be in large groups of people over the holiday?
Washington University infectious disease specialist Dr. Steve Lawrence says no.
“A negative test unfortunately is not a ticket to safety, or to be able to interact with others,” said Lawrence. “While it does give a little bit of extra assurance that you don’t have asymptomatic infection, it only indicates what’s going on at that moment in time.”
Lawrence said that doesn’t mean that the next day you couldn’t be positive. You could also be exposed on the way to your Thanksgiving destination.
“The worry is that if somebody gets a negative test, they can relax their guard and stop paying attention to mitigation efforts, such as wearing masks and social distancing,” he said. “They can actually put themselves and others at risk.”
Lawrence said during a large, extended family gathering, people are likely to get outside of the safety pod they and their immediate loved ones have established.
