To travel or not to travel: Thanksgiving holiday has some taking the risk

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Less people are expected to travel this Thanksgiving because of the pandemic, but coronavirus is not stopping everyone from taking the risk. 

An early-morning Amtrak train at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station Wednesday morning, Nov. 25, only had 10 people on it. Amtrak officials say there are typically up to six times more people than that the day before Thanksgiving. 

Nationally, Amtrak is down 20 percent from normal, however millions are still deciding to travel this holiday week. 

According to AAA, nearly 50 million people plan to travel including driving and flying despite health official warnings. Approximately 95 percent of them are planning on driving to their Thanksgiving destination. 

Travelers CBS 58 spoke with Wednesday morning, said they were a little nervous to travel but ultimately decided to for the holiday. 

"We were surprised. We were the only people in the car the whole time," said Lucas Jordan, traveling for the holidays. 

"I do believe you have to go on kind of living your life," said John Podvin, also traveling for the holidays. "There is a virus out there and it is serious." 

The busiest travel day for Amtrak is typically the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but officials expect those numbers to be down as well.