If you’re planning to take a vacation, health officials are urging you to make sure you understand where the biggest COVID-19 hot spots are.
For example, Las Vegas is seeing a spike in cases and thus isn't recommended for people who aren’t vaccinated.
"All the casinos are full," Las Vegas resident Hima Duggirala said. "The entire strip is packed. Restaurants are full. Everyone is definitely coming in from all over."
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Duggirala and family are traveling to the Bay Area for a few days to get away from a situation that’s made them very anxious.
"What we’re noticing is a lot of people not adhering to mask wearing," Duggirala said. "You have a lot of folks who don't wear their masks."
Las Vegas is one of the country’s prime COVID-19 hot spots.
"It’s really important to remember that as far as COVID goes, what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas," Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano said.
Farnitano said traveling to a COVID-19 hot spot can be very risky, especially if you're not vaccinated. In fact, he’s urging people who haven’t been vaccinated to consider a change of plans.
"If you’re not vaccinated, I wouldn’t recommend traveling to high transmission areas," he said.
Contra Costa County is also among the CDC's high transmission areas right now. Farnitano said that means unvaccinated residents need to change their behaviors at home, too.
"If you’re not vaccinated, I would not recommend eating indoors at a restaurant," he said. "I would not recommend going to a movie theater. I would not recommend going to an indoor gym if you’re not vaccinated."
The Ramdisi family returned Friday after a week in Las Vegas. They’re fully vaccinated but said being among the unmasked was unnerving.
"We were there for seven days. Now, should we self-quarantine at home for a week?" Amada Randisi said. "We have to be more careful now because we were exposed."
Health officials said with the delta variant in the mix, now is not the time to let your guard down, no matter where you’re heading.
