Thanksgiving

Use our interactive map to assess the risk level of attending an event, given the size and location.

As Christmas celebrations wind down and preparations for New Year’s Eve begin, new restrictions have taken effect in Massachusetts that aim to curb a new spike in holiday-related COVID-19 cases. But when would evidence of that surge likely appear? Thanksgiving, which inspired the new restrictions, may offer a sense.

Maybe people have COVID fatigue, maybe people just miss seeing other people. The reasons aren’t clear. But nearly half of Americans surveyed say they feel that it’s safe enough to travel more now than they did three months ago.  In fact, 28% of Americans will hit the road on Sunday, which is the busiest departure day of the year....

Triple A estimates that 34 million fewer Americans will travel for Christmas the New Year holiday given the surge in coronavirus cases. Three-quarters of the country plans to stay home, AAA estimated.

The Saturday before Christmas is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year. But as coronavirus numbers spike, experts warn against unnecessary travel.

A nursing home in New Hampshire is dealing with a coronavirus outbreak that’s reached more than 90% of its elderly residents and is now turning deadly. Martha Ilsley, the acting administrator at Hanover Terrace Health and Rehab in Hanover, said they’ve done everything possible to keep COVID at bay, but the virus got in late last month, and now...

Data from a flight tracking service shows thousands of flights traveled between airports in areas with high virus rates.

Americans were warned that the nation’s explosive rise in coronavirus cases this fall made traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday unsafe. But they traveled anyway, and new data suggests they might not have practiced social distancing while doing so. According to an NBC News analysis of cellphone location data provided by the analytics and marketing company Cuebiq, Americans in more than 1,900 counties...

Americans couldn’t resist the urge to gather for Thanksgiving

So many local charity organizations have stepped up to help people in need this year during the pandemic. And while those organizations have seen a greater need for services, they’ve also had less fundraising capabilities. After shopping on Cyber Monday, many people make it an annual tradition to take part in Giving Tuesday, making a charitable donation the week after...

With millions of Americans ignoring holiday travel restrictions and warnings from medical experts to stay home to stop the spread of the coronavirus, many doctors across the country and locally in Massachusetts now fear we may soon see a post-Thanksgiving spike in COVID case numbers. The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday that the U.S....

TSA processed more than 7 million people traveling over the past week with the holiday. While those numbers are down compared to a normal year, concerns are rising over another setback as the number of COVID-19 cases passes 13 million.

You won’t find the usual packed highways this Thanksgiving weekend. As travel orders from the CDC and state governments advised people to stay home, the pandemic put the breaks on heavy traffic. AAA estimated before the holiday weekend that 50 million people would travel for Thanksgiving ⁠— a mark that’s five million less than last year’s estimate. “There weren’t...

Some people took extra precautions in travelling home for Thanksgiving this fall.

With so many families gathering and traveling for Thanksgiving, despite warnings from the CDC, experts expect a rush on coronavirus testing. Dr. Shira Doron, of Tufts Medical Center, shares what to expect for those getting COVID-19 tests after the holiday.

After months of slumping sales and businesses toppling into bankruptcy, Black Friday is offering a small beacon of hope

Even as the number of COVID-19 cases soar, more people in the United States traveled by plane on the day before Thanksgiving than any day since March. On Wednesday 1,070,967 people went through TSA checkpoints, according to figures from the Transportation Security Administration. In all 6.8 million people headed to airports across the country in the week leading up to...

Jimmy Fallon addresses how the challenges of 2020 impacted the traditional Thanksgiving celebration.

Seth, Hilary, Larry and Josh Meyers fire sick burns at some deserving subjects, like cranberries and turkey.

The yearly Hollywood tradition of the Laugh Factory providing Thanksgiving dinner for those in need almost didn’t happen this year because of the pandemic.