Washington, Nov 30 (IANS): US top health officials have called on Americans who had travelled during the recent Thanksgiving holiday to get tested for the novel coronavirus in an effort to contain its spread in the already worst-hit country.

"That may be, when you go back to where you've came from, if it's possible to quarantine yourself for a period of time or even get tested to make sure that you are not bringing infection back to another place, be it another home or another family," Xinhua news agency quoted Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as saying on Sunday night in an ABC News interview.

"We understand the importance of families getting together. And it's just something that we have to deal with that we likely will have an increase in cases, as we get into the colder weeks of the winter, and as we approach the Christmas season," he added.

Speaking to CBC News also on Sunday, White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx said: "If you're young and you gathered, you need to be tested about five to 10 days later.

"But you need to assume that you're infected and not go near your grandparents and aunts and others without a mask."

A total of 1,070,967 people were screened at airports on the day before Thanksgiving, the largest number since the pandemic broke out in March, according to the US Transportation Security Administration.

In the run-up to Thanksgiving, public health experts urged Americans to forego large family celebrations amid the latest surge of coronavirus infections.

In its latest update on Monday, the Johns Hopkins University revealed that the US' current caseload and death toll stood at 13,374,162 and 266,838, respectively.

The two tallies account for the world's highest, making the US the worst-hit country.