Cars snake around Dodger Stadium as people in Los Angeles, CA wait for coronavirus tests in the ballpark parking lot. Photo: Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
Long lines for tests have reappeared across the U.S. with cases surging and families hoping to gather safely for Thanksgiving.
The big picture: Although the CDC advised Americans to not travel for Thanksgiving to prevent contracting and spreading COVID-19, AAA and the Transportation Security Administration expect millions of travelers this holiday.
In photos:
People line up for free COVID-19 test ahead of Thanksgiving in Queens, NY on November 18. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesThe Judiciary Square testing site in Washington, D.C. was busy on Wednesday, Nov. 18. People exiting reported wait times of two and a half hours. Photo: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesVehicles wait in lines with two-hour waits at drive-through testing at the Lawrence General Hospital parking lot in Lawrence, MA. Testing sites are throughout Lawrence, a high-risk city, during COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesPeople wait in line to get tested for COVID-19 at the Ann Street School Testing Center in Newark, New Jersey on Nov. 12. Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople line up in their cars as members of the Utah National Guard give COVID-19 swab tests at the Utah County Health Department on Nov. 20 Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah's governor called up the National Guard to assist in COVID-19 testing and tracing as the state has seen a large spike in positive tests the last several months. Photo: George Frey/Getty ImagesHealth care workers administer free COVID-19 tests to people in their cars in the parking lot of the Columbus West Family Health and Wellness Center in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 19. Photo: STEPHEN ZENNER/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople have their temperature taken as they wait in line to be checked in to receive a free COVID-19 test at the Angarai Testing Center in Silver Spring, Md., on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Photo: Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesBays are set up for patients in their vehicles in long lines with two-hour waits at drive-through testing at the Lawrence General Hospital parking lot in Lawrence, Mass. on Nov. 17. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesPeople wait in line at a COVID-19 walk-up test site in Los Angeles, California on Nov. 17. Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople wait inside vehicles at a drive-through COVID-19 testing site in Miami Beach, Florida on Nov. 17. Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images360 Clinic health care workers working with the Orange County Health Care Agency and city of Costa Mesa conducts testing at the drive-through self-administered COVID-19 testing super site at the Orange County Fair & Events Center on Thursday, Nov. 12. Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty
The CDC is urging “universal face mask use” for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, citing recent case spikes as the U.S. has entered a phase of “high-level transmission” before winter officially begins.
Why it matters: Daily COVID-related deaths across the U.S. hit a new record on Wednesday. Face coverings have been shown to increase protection of the wearer and those around them, despite some Americans' reluctance to use them.