NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. authorities have advised Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving next week as the country's COVID-19 cases are surging, warning travel may increase chances of getting and spreading the virus.

More than 1 million COVID-19 cases were reported in the United States over the last seven days. The country remains the nation hit the worst by the pandemic, with the world's highest caseload and death toll, accounting for more than 18 percent of the global deaths.

The recent nationwide surge in cases has alarmed authorities, prompting them to ask citizens to stay home for next week's Thanksgiving holiday, which normally sees millions of families travel to gather and enjoy meals.

"Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in a new guideline posted on its website Thursday.

The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with, said the guideline.

Travel in Thanksgiving holiday is an act that will most probably fuel the spread of the pandemic, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo also said on Thursday, warning that a spike of COVID-19 cases is expected after the holiday.

As the country continues to see surge in COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations, the American Automobile Association Travel published a prediction last week, saying that less than 50 million will hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday this year -- a drop from 55 million in 2019, which would be the greatest one-year drop since the Great Recession in 2008.

Meanwhile, in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through college-related travel, colleges and universities in seven U.S. states are encouraged to make testing available to all students before they leave for Thanksgiving break and inform students and their families of the states' quarantine requirements, said the governors of New York, Massachusetts, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania on Wednesday in an official press release.

In addition, the governors strongly recommended that colleges and universities finish their fall semesters by expanding remote instruction, enabling more students to learn from home for the few weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break rather than require students to travel back to campus and then back home again in December. Enditem

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