MEMPHIS, Tennessee — From "To Go" to "No Go."
One Memphis man decided to listen to the experts and canceled his big Thanksgiving gathering.
Originally, Maurice Williams planned to hold a "to go" Thanksgiving dinner. Relatives were going to come over and pick up a plate of food, spend a few minutes with his 82-year-old father outside, and then take their meals home to eat. Williams thought that would a safe event. He has since changed his mind.
"I started thinking and I started checking and I said no. We've got to stay locked down just the five of us. Nobody is coming over and I'm not doing anything - and that's huge for me," said Williams.
Williams said he decided to put the brakes on his Thanksgiving event after thinking about how risky it was going to be.
"This is very serious and we are coming, I think, to the worst season of this, " said Williams.
Williams personally knows 21 people who have died of COVID since the outbreak began. He said his relatives have taken the cancellation well.
"Couple of them went out of town and one of them came back with it, so they now understand," said Williams.
"You could have no idea that you have itm, and you have, and then suddenly feel sick. And meanwhile you've been sick for some time and spreading the disease," said Vanderbilt researcher Melissa McPheeters.
McPheeters said asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic guests are the biggest concern for Thanksgiving gatherings. And it's why scientists fear Thanksgiving will turn into a super spreader event.
"I think this is very much a very serious threat, and a very serious concern for all of us," said McPheeters.
"It's past too risky, and the truth, everything is past risky. You don't want this - you don't want it," said Williams.
Williams said cancelling Thanksgiving events is the smart thing to do and he's urging others to do the same.
"If the Lord says so, we are going to have a big Easter, if he says so. All we can do is hope," said Williams.