US: Holiday weekend in the US resembles prepandemic times, as experts and the White House remain wary of virus risk.

Memorial Day has long been understood as the unofficial start of the US summer, but during the pandemic, it has also come with canceled events, bans on large gatherings and news of lagging vaccination rates. This holiday weekend, however, during one of the country’s traditionally busiest travel periods, more than 39m Americans are expected to take to the skies and roads, according to estimates by AAA, the automobile owners group. “We’re approaching prepandemic numbers,” said Andrew Gobeil, a spokesman for Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport. He said on Friday that he expected more than 2m passengers between Thursday and Wednesday. “It’s an honest appraisal of where we stand,” he said. “Everyone is pretty thrilled.” “We’re approaching prepandemic numbers,” said Andrew Gobeil, a spokesman for Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport. He said on Friday that he expected more than 2m passengers between Thursday and Wednesday. “It’s an honest appraisal of where we stand,” he said. “Everyone is pretty thrilled.” Last year, some experts, including Dan Diekema, an epidemiologist at the University of Iowa, were hopeful that the holiday weekend would mark the beginning of the end to the threat of the virus in the United States. “In retrospect, I was far too optimistic,” he said in an interview on Friday, adding that he has since stopped making predictions. “I could not imagine the tragedy that would ensue over the past year.”<br/>