SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- According to AAA, travel is down this year compared to last year, but still more drivers are fueling up, visiting rest stops, and heading off to their destinations.
It could mean the potential uptick in coronavirus cases.
Travelers are masking up, social distancing, and sanitizing their hands.
A couple from South Africa has been stuck in the United States since March and this Labor Day weekend is their first time hitting the road since the pandemic began.
“This is the normal for me,” said Jacob Duplessis, who is traveling from New York to Portland, Maine. “This is what I expect. Maybe next year when I come back, it's going to be a totally different story, but this is my perspective currently.”
He and his wife Tania are traveling to Maine for the holiday weekend.
The couple and their son came to the U.S. at the beginning of the year for work.
They said the coronavirus has taken its toll on their family, but it hasn't made them scared to travel.
“Personally, I am not that worried about the COVID thing,” he said. “We think just normal practical measures.”
“We do follow the normal protocol,” Tania Duplessis said. “We are not going completely berserk in terms of health and hygiene.”
The South Africa couple currently lives in Saratoga, N.Y.
Western Mass News caught them passing through on the Mass Pike. They said they are happy to go somewhere else, but typically they spread their wings and travel by plane. Due to COVID-19, that’s not the case this weekend.
“The reason why we're not traveling is not that we don't want to travel, but all the airports are closed,” he said. “So currently, we can't travel to South Africa. We can't travel outside of the states, and we're mostly worried if we get out we can't come back.”
Other travelers are also feeling at ease driving through the bay state, including these western Mass residents who stopped at the Ludlow service plaza Friday afternoon.
“I wouldn't say I'm nervous about people on the road,” said Massimiliano Walder of Northampton.
“It seems like everyone is on the same page here in western Mass about staying socially distant, so I feel pretty comfortable,” said Alyssa Moreau of Huntington.
MassDOT told Western Mass News in a statement:
“With COVID-19 restrictions in place, we would ask all travelers to follow all guidance and social distancing at rest stops and at their ultimate destinations. We encourage travelers to plan their trip in advance to include any additional traffic volume, and rest stops.”
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has suspended all construction work as of 5 a.m. Friday.
They said it will start up again with normal business hours on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The Link LonkSeptember 05, 2020 at 07:48AM
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Travelers not concerned about holiday weekend travel | News - WESTERNMASSNEWS.com
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