Authorities are asking people to stay home for the holidays in the hopes of avoiding another spike in COVID-19 cases, like the one after Thanksgiving.
Four New England governors joined together to share a message encouraging people to celebrate the holidays safely this year.
Govs. Charlie Baker, Janet Mills, Chris Sununu and Phil Scott each shared the same video Wednesday evening, where all four spoke and encouraged people to wear masks, avoid travel and gather in smaller groups than usual at the peak of the holiday season.
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"We know this about the virus," Baker said. "It doesn't care who you are, where you are from, whether you are young or old, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican."
"It's a threat to all of us," Scott added.
A month removed from Thanksgiving, when many of Americans traveled despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and cases of the novel coronavirus surged, officials are hoping to avoid another spike.
"If you are thinking about having a holiday get-together as usual this year, it also means reconsidering that," Mills said.
"No one wants COVID to be an uninvited guest during the holidays," Sununu said.
Large family gatherings and travel have been discouraged for the holidays by both the governors and the CDC.
According to AAA, 34 million fewer people are expected to travel for Christmas this year. But many others still will.
"Our public health officials are giving us the right advice, which is to stay home and to celebrate the holidays in our own households with a very small group, our immediate family," said Mary Maguire of AAA Southern New England. "We at AAA echo that. The safest option is definitely to stay home."
For those that do plan to travel, AAA encourages people to plan ahead and follow all COVID-19 related guidelines for staying safe.
