Sharjah24 – AFP: Busy airports and serpentine queues at testing sites: many Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family Thursday despite authorities warning they risk exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic engulfing the country.

Stopping short of issuing an outright ban, the US government's health protection agency has for the first time called on Americans not to travel for the annual holiday, which sees families get together over turkey, yams and cranberry sauce and for many is more important than Christmas.

With more than 150,000 new cases daily in the US, which has the world's highest coronavirus death toll of more than 256,000, most state governors have urged citizens not to turn their dining rooms into hotbeds of coronavirus. 

But after almost nine months of the pandemic the guidelines are too restrictive for some Americans who are finding ways to celebrate with loved ones while limiting the number of dinner guests.

Even with minimal celebrations -- resulting in significantly smaller turkey orders this year, according to breeders -- officials fear an explosion of cases in the run-up to Christmas.

Since the start of the pandemic in March, holidays have triggered outbreaks of the virus, including after July 4, Labor Day in September and Halloween, according to health officials.