MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Despite warnings from health experts, Americans seem determined to travel this Thanksgiving no matter what. The danger is, you can have the virus and not even know it.
One real life example is what happened to Jane Kope's father while they were on a trip from Minnesota to Memphis to visit Graceland.
Kope left Minnesota a few weeks ago with her dad. They had no idea that her dad had COVID-19 until they were in Memphis.
"There's people traveling all over the place and people having big gatherings for Thanksgiving," said Kope.
Holiday traveling during a COVID crisis concerns Jane Kope, who is a travel agent by trade.
When Kope began her recent trip to Memphis, she thought everything was fine.
"Neither one of us had symptoms - no temperature - so we thought we were ok," said Kope.
Kope had no idea when she took a picture on Beale Street with her 78-year-old father Bob Bergstrom, he was COVID-19 positive. They ate ribs on Beale. They visited the Peabody lobby. They were out and about doing typical Memphis tourist Stuff.
The trip to Memphis was to honor Kope's mother Mary, who was a huge Elvis fan. They planned on spreading some of her mom's ashes at Graceland. Since her mother passed away a decade ago, they have sprinkled her ashes around the world.
"She's been to the fountains of the Bellagio, the beaches of St. Martin, and someone took her to Ireland for me. So we figured Graceland was the icing on the cake," said Kope.
The morning they were supposed to go Graceland, Bergstrom became symptomatic and was rushed to the Baptist Desoto hospital. He had COVID-19.
"The emergency room was packed. It was busy, busy, busy," said Kope. "We we're a million miles from home in a strange town, in a strange hospital."
Bergstrom was admitted, and days later he returned to Minnesota and landed back in the hospital there. He is doing better and now home.
"Eating is an issue - he is terrible weak, a little disoriented and a little scared," said Kope. "It's terrifying. It's terrifying and both his best friends who are 90 are in the hospital right now with COVID-19."
Kope tested negative for COVID when her dad was in the hospital, but she said after seeing his experience, she is concerned so many others are traveling this holiday season and will be spreading the virus.
She hopes to one day return to Memphis to finish the trip but admits it may be a while.
"I want travel to come back, but we have to do it smart," said Kope.
Kope said she used an app to check into everywhere she stopped on the drive from Minnesota to Memphis. She said she contacted all the locations and reported to them her father was COVID-19 positive and the date and time they were in the businesses.
