Beaches get busy in US, as Americans break free from coronavirus lockdown

Beaches in the United States are bustling with travellers, as the country heads into the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.

After more than two months of coronavirus lockdowns that kept Americans homebound, the beach-area traffic has tripled compared to the low point in mid-April.

According to a report by Reuters, traffic in some areas is even expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels.

Passenger car travel in US beach counties has more than doubled since Easter, according to data by transportation analytics company StreetLight Data, with Maryland’s Ocean City beach resort showing four times as much activity.

“That’s an indication that part of the reason why people are on the move is to go somewhere nice and summery,” StreetLight Data Chief Executive Laura Schewel said

While US traffic is still down some 50%, road use has more than tripled since its low point during Easter, when more than 90% of the U.S. population was under some form of lockdown order, StreetLight Data showed.

Traffic in major cities along the US West Coast and North East, including in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Washington, remains down significantly, data by INRIX Inc, another transportation data provider, showed.

Road use in some less populated areas has even surpassed February levels, INRIX said, and non-coastal cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Houston have seen large increases in activity since early May.

Americans looking to vacation overseas may have to wait until later this summer – and even then, the options may be limited. Parts of Mexico and the Caribbean have targeted dates in early to mid-June for reopening from the Covid-19 restrictions, but Europe will lag, opening first to other citizens of European Union and Schengen Area countries before welcoming international visitors at a later date.