Universities and companies across the country are closing their campuses amidst fears over the coronavirus – but students and other young people are taking the time to book cheap flights.
As airline stocks plummeted and the United States continued grappling with its questionable handling of the virus, droves of millennial took to social media to share their upcoming travel plans.
Their need to travel comes as more than 1,000 people in the US have tested positive for COVID-19 across 38 states and the District of Columbia, and 31 people have died.
Users shared grabs from Google Flight and Skyscanner showing flights ranging from $50 to $300 for flights that normally cost several hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Users shared grabs from Google Flight and Skyscanner showing flights ranging from $50 to $300 for flights that normally cost several hundreds, if not thousands of dollars
Their need to travel comes as more than 1,000 people in the US have tested positive for COVID-19 across 38 states and D.C, and 31 people have died
‘Y’all these flights are so cheap who’s down for a vacation,’ shared one woman who included a screengrabs that showed cheap flights to Honolulu, Chicago, Cancun, Denver and Palm Springs.
The flight to Cancun, Mexico, was just $308 for the entire trip.
Another person shared a $49 flight they had found from San Francisco, California, to Australia.
Several people shared that they had been looking over the cheap flights, with some people committing to actually making purchases – including one couple who said they were going to Aruba.
Another person shared a $49 flight they had found from San Francisco, California, to Australia
Several people shared that they had been looking over the cheap flights, with some people committing to actually making purchases
With many universities announcing that they would be moving classes to online, people expressed excitement at taking those classes while on vacation.
‘UCSD students leaving their dorm to explore the world now that classes are online and flights are dirt cheap,’ said one user.
Another user contemplated buying tickets to NYC for spring break because the tickets were so cheap.
Even parents were getting in on the fun, with one woman sharing a hilarious video of her mother standing in an empty John F Kennedy Airport in New York as she prepared to board a flight to Dubai.
With many universities announcing that they would be moving classes to online, people expressed excitement at taking those classes while on vacation
‘How my mother feels about these cheap flights,’ the woman said in the video’s caption. Her mother tells the virus to stay in its lane.
And while people expressed excitement over the possible travel, others voiced their disappointment.
‘Flight tickets are very cheap BUT them d**n hotel prices didn’t even come down,’ expressed one user.
Another user stated: ‘Y’all deada*s forgetting to mention all these “cheap” a*s flights are spirit airlines bitch you gotta fly the plane yourself of course it’s cheap.’
‘Flight tickets are very cheap BUT them d**n hotel prices didn’t even come down,’ expressed one user
Another user stated: ‘Y’all deada*s forgetting to mention all these “cheap” a*s flights are spirit airlines bitch you gotta fly the plane yourself of course it’s cheap’
Several folks pointed out that flights never needed to be as expensive as they got normally.
Several folks pointed out that flights never needed to be as expensive as they got normally.
‘I mad because flights COULD be this cheap all the time and airlines would still make money but NO i guess not,’ someone shared.
There were numerous people who pointed out that these brave travelers were risking the health of older people in their family and those at the vacation spots by taking the trips.
The mortality rate for the general population is thought to be between 1 and 2 per cent for the coronavirus.
But this rises to 8 per cent to those in their 70s, and to 15 per cent for over-80s. People with underlying conditions are at even greater risk.
And while the risk for younger people are lower, they can spread the virus just as easily.
Anyone visiting in close proximity to older folks should be very careful about hygiene – by washing their hands and perhaps staying away if they have a cold.
But experts state not to avoid all contact as they believe this will do more harm than good. It could mean they become isolated, exacerbating loneliness.
A California doctor recently announced that three patients under the age of 40 in his care have been placed in intensive care after contracting the virus.
Coronavirus doctor reveals his patients in intensive care are as young as 40 and do NOT have underlying health conditions – contradicting official advice
Dr Sam Fink, who is based in the affluent town of Tarzana, says three men struck down with coronavirus are all in intensive care and are as young as 40 – contradicting claims that the disease only impacts the elderly
A California doctor says three men he knows struck down with coronavirus are all in intensive care and are as young as 40 – contradicting claims that the disease only impacts the elderly.
Dr Sam Fink, who is based in the affluent town of Tarzana, began treating two of the men following their return home from a ski trip to Northern Italy late last month. Dr. Fink is friends with a third patient from the trip, who is also now in ICU battling against the virus.
‘I have never seen anything like this,’ Dr Fink told DailyMail.com on Tuesday
‘These people who are in the hospital are generally young. Forty, fifty, sixty. These are not elderly people. There are three people who are now in the ICU.
‘It is my understanding that one has underlying medical issues, but the other two sure don’t. Not having any underlying medical issues does not protect you,’ he warned.
Dr Fink hit headlines earlier this week after he took to Facebook to urge all schools to close down amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The post was subsequently shared tens of thousands of times.
The medic says he took to social media to share his concern about the alarming rate that the killer virus is spreading. He believes that closing down schools could help drastically slow the spread of the disease.
‘I have never taken to Facebook, but the reason I did is because I have patients and I was really concerned about the number of patients,’ he said. ‘If this is true and this is a pattern, then we are not doing enough’.