8 charts and photos that show many Americans are over quarantines and lockdowns

More than 100,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The data shows many Americans are eager to get out to shop, travel, and dine and as photos show, sometimes at the risk of spreading infection and breaking CDC and government guidance.
These photos and charts highlight that many Americans have begun leaving the safety of their homes in the last week.
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Memorial Day weekend drew large crowds to beaches, lakes, and boardwalks across the US. But enjoying the sun on the holiday isn't the only reason Americans are leaving their homes.

Data across hotel, restaurant, and flight platforms shows Americans are starting to leave their houses more to travel, shop, and get outside.

However, as people start to branch out beyond the confines of their homes, concerns of a second-wave of COVID-19 cases are growing , particularly as large crowds gather without masks or social distancing a direct contradiction to CDC, government, and epidemiologists guidance.

Memorial Day gatherings came as the US approached and surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.

Yet, states are forging ahead in a patchwork of reopening levels. And now, different parts of the country are beginning to see a dichotomy between the number of new cases rising and declining.

In states such as New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, and Washington, new COVID-19 cases have been dropping steadily for weeks. But states including North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia, among 17 others, the number of new cases increased during the week that ended May 24.

To highlight the change in behavior, we've rounded up data and photos that show Americans' return to the outdoors, charting the various ways people are beginning to resume more traditional activities.

Apple Map searches for directions are rising

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Apple

Americans' mobility shows signs of a return toward normalcy as driving, walking, and transit map options all indicate an increase in user searches.

Apple Maps data shows searches were on the decline from March but started to rebound in mid-April and returned to baseline levels toward the end of May. The increase in direction requests indicates that the users are getting out and about more.

But driving with stops and using mass transit puts travelers at risk of spreading infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

Americans aren't flying much, but there has been an uptick the number of travelers since the pandemic began.

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Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Air travel took a major plunge during the pandemic with flights well below 2019 levels, according to data from the TSA.

While most forms of transportation saw a decline during the pandemic, air travel took one of the hardest hits with the number of travelers screened by TSA being down over 85% year-over-year. Planes are particularly risky for spreading the coronavirus because air travel requires touching many shared surfaces and presents a difficulty for social distancing, according to the CDC.

But despite the CDC's warnings about the risk of spreading infection through air travel, there has been an uptick in passengers since mid-April when flights reached their lowest point.

People are starting to stay in hotels again

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People traveling, whether it be by car or plane, appear to also be staying out more too. Data from STR, a company that tracks supply and demand data for the hospitality industry, reported data that shows hotel occupancy is increasing after a slump that started in parallel with initial reactions to the coronavirus outbreak in the US.

While hotel rentals are still more than 15% below where they were at the start of January, a slow and steady uptick in hotel occupancy indicates people are not only beginning to leave their houses more but also venture far enough to need a hotel booking.

And even though staying at a hotel does not directly increase the risk of exposure to COVID-19 , many of the activities involved with staying at hotels do, such as traveling, eating out, and situations that jeopardize the ability to social distance.

Americans are booking a lot more tables at restaurants

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Businesses continue to suffer amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the restaurant industry being one of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy as states around the nation limited restaurants to take-out and delivery options for weeks on end. The freeze on dine-in eating put some restaurants out of business and others into tenuous situations.

Data from Open Table, an online restaurant reservation company, showed bookings plummet at the beginning of March as the country started to enter a state of lockdown. Those levels remained constant until the start of May, which overlaps with many states relaxing restaurant restrictions. Bookings indicate Americans are going out much more as reservations spiked toward the end of May.

Dine-in restaurants, particularly those with indoor seating, pose a level of elevated risk compared to take-out and delivery options but as restrictions ease, more and more people are opting to eat out.

Revelers packed closely together in the water during Memorial Day weekend at Osage Beach of the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.

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Twitter/Lawler50/via REUTERS

Poolside gathering at the Lake of the Ozarks made headlines after people gathered to party at bars and restaurants.

Missouri's new cases of COVID-19 rose 27% during the week which ended May 24. While other states like New York, which was the epicenter of the pandemic in the US, saw the number of new cases fall six weeks in a row.

"This reckless behavior endangers countless people and risks setting us back substantially from the progress we have made in slowing the spread of COVID-19," St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said in a statement about the lake activity.

The owner of the bar at Lake of the Ozarks said that social distancing is not a law and said all customers had their temperatures checked and those higher than 100.4 degrees were not admitted.

Crowds of spectators gathered at AceSpeedway in Elon, North Carolina for the season opener.

Pools and bars aren't the only places dealing with overcrowding. A speedway in rural North Carolina drew hundreds to its stands with a season-opening race.

North Carolina's new cases of COVID-19 for the week ended May 24 rose 26% while other spots around the US have seen steady eight-week declines , such as Washington state.

ABC reporter Itinease McMiller tweeted out pictures from the race track which showed signage that gave suggestions on how to promote health but visitors did not seem to be social distancing.

Cyclists and beachgoers roamed around Huntington Beach, California Memorial Day weekend during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

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REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon

California had its own bout of crowds during the Memorial Day weekend as people tried to get out into the summer sun.

California is approaching early phases of reopening as 47 of its 53 counties qualified to reopen barbershops and hair salons under the stringent rules created by Gov. Gavin Newsom and California health officials, a Reuters report said.

But according to Newsom, it's thanks to Californians staying home.

"We aren't out of the woods yet," Newsom wrote in a Tweet . "We must continue to take this seriously and allow our re-opening to be guided by science and public health."

Visitors crowded the boardwalk on Memorial Day weekend in Ocean City, Maryland.

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REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Maryland's beaches and boardwalks were swarmed with crowds on the Memorial holiday weekend with groups of visitors appearing to not wear masks or social distance, which are recommendations given by the CDC during the coronavirus pandemic.

Maryland is one of 20 states that has seen the number of new cases increase during the week that ended May 24, although according to Reuters, it's unclear if this is due to a second wave of cases or if it is due to more abundant testing.

The United States has the most COVID-19 cases of any country and the economy has been obliterated by pandemic as unemployment reached record highs .

Americans are clearly eager to get back outside after months of lockdowns the question now is how to do so without being reckless or endangering others or yourself.