"We believe Californians will do the right thing," said California health secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, explaining why the state is issuing a travel advisory, instead of a mandatory quarantine.
In a Pacific Northwest partnership, California joined Oregon and Washington in asking their residents to avoid non-essential travel out of state and to quarantine, if they're coming into the area for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Here's the thing - if travelers intend to quarantine in time for Thanksgiving, they should have been on lockdown Nov. 12, which was Thursday.
RELATED: CA health secretary updates small gathering guidelines for Thanksgiving, holidays
ABC7 visited San Francisco International Airport where some travelers told us they plan to be very careful, but not necessarily quarantine a full 14 days.
The most ideal traveler we found - Julie Deck, who stayed safe prior to boarding her flight and plans to mostly stay home with her daughter during her two month visit.
"I stayed home, I take my temperature every morning, pack my clothes and came," said Deck.
WATCH: ABC7 News looks at COVID-19 protocols for holiday travel at Oakland International Airport
Look at COVID-19 protocols at Oakland airport
"We follow all the advisories, do all the recommendations," said Jill Kohlmeier, her daughter.
There are no COVID-19 checkpoints at SFO. You can pretty much come and go as you please. While officials there believe the advisory is a good idea, their main strategy is masks, education and partnerships.
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"We're very focused on launching what we call bubbles or travel corridors, these are bilateral agreements between SFO and a specific location," said Doug Yakel, SFO spokesperson.
We pressed Dr. Mark Ghaly on how the state plans to keep people accountable, especially when California is surrounded by COVID-19 hot spots. A brief look at SFO's arrivals board shows many people coming in from cities where COVID-19 numbers are also on the rise.
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"If there's any indication that the travel advisory needs to be strengthened, we will consider that in the days and weeks to come. But I will punctuate it by saying, I certainly hope that the advisory doesn't weaken any part of the message."
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