Health Experts Warn Possible COVID Surge After Holidays

State leaders and health experts are warning of a possible COVID-19 surge immediately following the holiday season all while testing sites and hospitals in Massachusetts are being put to the test.

According to a story reported on by WHDH/7 News Boston, more than 2,000 people are currently being treated for COVID-19 in Mass. hospitals — the most since May.

Gov. Charlie Baker said, "Our hospitals are now under significant pressure and we’re heading toward another period, this holiday stretch, where we’re likely to see another significant increase in cases and hospitalizations."

Gov. Baker is encouraging residents to stay home for the holidays; however, long lines of people getting tested for the virus in Worcester, similar to what the state saw heading into Thanksgiving, may be an indication of an upcoming spike.

An increase in air travel is also alarming health specialists.

Since Friday, more than four million people have flown out of United States airports.

On Tuesday, the U.S. reported more than 3,200 deaths in one day due to the coronavirus virus.

Dr. Joseph Varon, Chief Medical Officer at United Memorial Medical Center, said, "The next six weeks are going to be the darkest weeks in modern American medical history. The vaccine is going to take you 6 to 8 weeks to get immunity. We are right during Christmas where people are not listening.”

Gov. Baker recently announced that the state will be imposing a new set of business restrictions and a change in gathering limits after Christmas in an effort to prevent another surge.

For more on this story, please visit WHDH/7 News' website here and we thank them for the update.