County officials urge caution around holidays as they report more than 2,500 new COVID-19 cases

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego County public health officials urged residents to avoid large holiday gatherings as they reported 2,598 new COVID-19 infections and 39 deaths from the virus.

County Supervisors Nathan Fletcher and Greg Cox pointed to a massive uptick in cases after Thanksgiving - including the region's highest daily total coming three weeks after the holiday with 3,611 cases reported Friday.

"We cannot ignore the reality that we are in a bad place right now,'' Cox said. "We're making a special plea to avoid large gatherings with those outside your immediate family. This one time, th...