Denver Mayor Michael has told people to avoid travel in order to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which is at record levels in the city.

DENVER — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock boarded a flight to Houston ahead of Thanksgiving despite his warnings that people should stay close to home and only spend the holiday with their own household if they can.

His spokeswoman confirmed that Hancock was traveling to Houston Wednesday to visit his daughter in Mississippi, and that his wife is already there.

About 30 minutes before the flight, Hancock's account tweeted out to “avoid travel, if you can” in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"As he has shared, the Mayor is not hosting his traditional large family dinner this year, but instead traveling alone to join his wife and daughter where the three of them will celebrate Thanksgiving at her residence instead of having them travel back to Denver," a statement from the mayor's spokesperson reads. "Upon return, he will follow all necessary health and safety guidance and quarantine."

According to an email obtained by 9NEWS, Hancock’s assistant said the mayor would be out of office from Wednesday to Friday.

In an email to city staff on Nov. 18, Hancock wrote, “as the holidays approach, we all long to be with our families with person, but with the continued rise in cases, I’m urging you to refrain from travel this Thanksgiving holiday. For my family that means cancelling our traditional gathering of our extended family.”

In the email, Hancock also said anyone who travels out of state should quarantine for 14 days and that employees who can’t work from home will need to use their paid time off for the leave.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/denver-mayor-michael-hancock-travels-thanksgiving/73-e6b5f236-b0c7-4415-a22e-c84dd6f7acf1