Denver mayor slammed for Thanksgiving travel despite asking others to stay home

Denver's mayor flew to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with his wife and youngest daughter, minutes after asking the public to "avoid travel, if you can".

Michael Hancock told Americans to "pass the potatoes, not Covid" in a message on Twitter, urging people to “stay home as much as you can” and host virtual celebrations for the holiday.

He also wrote an email to Denver city workers, urging them to "refrain from travel this Thanksgiving holiday".

Mr Hancock added that he had cancelled his own traditional gathering of his "extended family".

But this did not stop him from flying home to see his family for Thanksgiving.

Mr Hancock apologised, acknowledging that he went against his own public guidance.

"I made my decision as a husband and father, and for those who are angry and disappointed, I humbly ask you to forgive decisions that are borne of my heart and not my head," he said.

It comes as the US recorded more than 12.7 million coronavirus infections and over 262,000 deaths.

More than 88,000 people in the US — an all-time high — were in the hospital with Covid-19 as of Tuesday, pushing the health care system in many places to the breaking point, and new cases of the virus have been setting records, soaring to an average of over 174,000 per day.

Deaths have surged to more than 1,600 per day, a mark last seen in May, when the crisis in the New York area was easing.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local authorities have begged people not to travel and urged them to keep their Thanksgiving celebrations small.

About 900,000 to 1 million people per day passed through US airport checkpoints from Friday through Tuesday, a drop-off of around 60 per cent from the same time a year ago. Still, those were some of the biggest crowds since the Covid-19 crisis took hold in the U.S. in March.

Last year, a record 26 million passengers and crew passed through US airport screening in the 11-day period around Thanksgiving.

More Americans drive than fly during the holiday, and AAA has projected those numbers are also likely to be lower this year. How much lower the auto club has not said.

Many states and cities have adopted precautions. Travellers to Los Angeles, either by plane or train, were required to fill out an online form acknowledging California's request that people quarantine for two weeks after arrival in the state.

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