Holiday Traffic Lighter On Freeways After Heath Advisories Not To Travel

SYLMAR (CBSLA) – The day before Thanksgiving is oftentimes one of the busiest days to travel each year, but public health officials are urging people to cancel their travel plans.

Still, traffic could be seen on some freeways throughout Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon. In Sylmar, cars were lined up where the 405 Freeway meets the 5.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors was considering Wednesday if all Thanksgiving gatherings should be banned. The proposal coming after L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer asked the board to approve new restrictions as COVID-19 cases continue to spike faster than ever.

"At this point in time, our metrics are the most alarming metrics we have ever seen," she said.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention also advised people not to travel through airports as cases rise, or spend the holidays with people outside their households.

Despite the warnings, experts said about one million people a day packed airports over the weekend, traveling to see friends and family for the holiday.

"I'm here to visit my family for Thanksgiving and to spend some time with them," said Karla Paredes after getting off a flight. "I made sure to limit my social interaction with other people."

Officials with the L.A. County Health Department estimated Wednesday that one of every 145 people in the county are now infected and transmitting it to others.

"That doesn't include people that are currently hospitalized or isolated at home," county Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said. "This is the estimate of people that are out and about infecting others. They may not know they're infected."

About 300 new hospital admissions due to the virus are happening each day in Los Angeles County, jumping by about 70 percent in the past two weeks, according to Ghaly.