Michelle Dallaire, 50, a lawyer from Idlewild, Michigan, will spend her first Christmas away from her father, who lives in Northern Virginia.
He always meets with the family for the holidays but this year the pandemic disrupted his plans.
He decided it was not worth the risk.
"It's sad, but it's better than never seeing him again,"
said Dallaire, who has health problems that make her particularly vulnerable to the virus.
[Follow our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic]
One day before Christmas Eve, the United States has not imposed national travel restrictions, leaving that decision to state governments, but authorities advise people to
stay home.
Santa Claus laughs with Kristin Laidre as she walks her dog, Scooby, in a protective bubble in the Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle, Washington on December 8
Especially when the country registered a
new record for deaths from COVID-19 in a single day
on Tuesday
: 3,350
, according to a count by our sister network NBC News.
This number surpasses the latest record reported on December 16.
In the
past week, 18,980 people have died
from COVID-19, at a faster rate than at any other time in the pandemic, according to this same tally.
The country also recorded more than
205,000 coronavirus cases on
Tuesday.
The last record was last Friday with 248,259.
In total, the US has surpassed
18.2 million infections and more than 323,000 have died,
making this
the deadliest year in US history due to the pandemic
.
Also, the Trump Administration announced on Wednesday the purchase of
100 million additional doses of the vaccine from Pfizer
, ensuring that all Americans who wish to do so can be vaccinated by June.
This is in addition to the 100 million doses already purchased by the Government.
Anthony Fauci receives Moderna's vaccine against COVID-19 at a public event
Dec. 22, 202002: 39
Although the arrival of the vaccine does not dispel fears with the arrival of the new strain of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom and in South Africa, more contagious, the leading expert in infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, estimates that it has already arrived in the country.
Travel bans could slow down the new variant.
In the long term, however, many scientists think that this strain, or one like it,
will
simply
outpace the others in circulation
and become the dominant version of the virus worldwide.
"I have no doubt that it
will arrive,
" Hajo Zeeb, a professor at the Leibniz Institute for Preventive Research and Epidemiology in Germany, told our sister network NBC News.
"From what we have learned about the virus, it is
going to be difficult to contain,
" he said.
"I don't think it is possible to prevent it from spreading internationally," he added.
Fredy Parra, dressed as Santa Claus, talks to a girl in Caracas, Venezuela.
For more than 10 years, children have taken photos with this Santa.AP / Ariana Cubillos
Although nearly 50 countries have banned travel to and from the United Kingdom, the United States has not yet done so.
In the midst of this panorama, the president, Donald Trump, threatened to veto the aid package for the pandemic approved by Congress after eight months of negotiations.
A rare Christmas season around the world
Although restrictions imposed by local and national governments vary
around the world,
which exceeded
1.7 million deaths from the disease,
this will be a Christmas of isolation in most Catholic countries.
Many families face a
difficult decision
: to see their loved ones despite the risk that this poses for the elderly, or to spend such special dates in isolation.
While in
Mexico
, authorities have discouraged family gatherings in Mexico City,
Peruvians will
not be allowed to drive on Christmas and New Years to discourage visiting, even with close family and friends.
In
Brazil
, which has the second highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world after the United States, Francisco Paulo made a similar decision by skipping a visit to his elderly mother in São José do Belmonte, in the state of Pernambuco.
The 53-year-old goalkeeper will work during vacations in a building in São Paulo.
A Christmas concert at a senior center in Alzano Lombardo, one of the areas hardest hit by the pandemic, in northern Italy.
"I hope to drive there (Pernambuco) in May, and cross my fingers so that she is vaccinated by then," said Paulo.
"
It is not a happy Christmas, but at least I am healthy
and so are all the people I love," he added.
In Europe, residents of cities like London are also prohibited from seeing people outside their homes.
With information from AP and NBC News.