Some Valley residents still choosing to travel amid huge surge in COVID-19 cases

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The holiday travel rush is still underway despite the dire warnings from local health officials and from the CDC.

The TSA reports more than one million people were screened this weekend as they headed to their destinations.

Healthcare leaders, physicians, and frontline workers joined a statewide call Tuesday, desperately pleading for everyone to take precautions.

There have been more than 58,000 COVID cases across Fresno County.

587 people are currently hospitalized and so far 646 people have died.

But with Christmas days away people are still traveling, like Maxy going to Las Vegas to be with her elderly mother.

"I'm listening to the warnings but at the same time, I'm taking precautions," she says.

Tim Franz is also going to Vegas to visit his son. He says he's being as safe as he can be.

"Who we're going to meet over there - they've done the same thing as far as being away from people as much as possible and trying to be as careful as they can be, so I think we've been as prudent as we can be," Franz says.

Another traveler, Brooke Boyd, tells Action News: "I love people and they are in different parts of the world and I'm going to go see them and be with them and do my best to be safe as I go."

Officials with the Fresno Yosemite international airport say that with air travel still recovering nationwide and flight cancellations due to weather this week, passenger activity is about 50% of last year.