Like many other aspects of our daily lives, Thanksgiving will undoubtedly be a lot different this year. While the safest bet is to avoid travel and celebrate only with those in your household, we want to empower you with the information you need to weigh risks and make informed decisions for yourself and your family.
To Gather or Not to Gather: No Easy Answers
The virus doesn’t take a holiday, so it’s a good idea to talk now with your family and friends about how to celebrate Thanksgiving. You’ll probably find differing views about how to stay safe. That’s why it’s important to have open and honest conversations about the best way to approach this year’s feast, rather than leaving it to chance.
Assess the Risks of Getting Together With Loved Ones
When talking with friends and family about Thanksgiving plans, consider the following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the levels of risk in gathering with people outside your immediate household:
Lowest risk: virtual-only activities
More risk: small outdoor and in-person gatherings where people from different households stay at least 6 feet apart, wear masks, don’t share dinnerware, and come from the same local area (community, town, city or county).
Higher risk: medium-sized, in-person gatherings where people stay spaced out by at least 6 feet but come together from outside the local area.
Highest risk: large, in-person gatherings where people can’t stay spaced at least 6 feet apart and they travel from outside the local area.
It’s also important to remember that the longer interaction with people outside your household lasts, the higher your risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 and of the virus spreading. Where you live also makes a difference. Follow local rules about the size of gatherings and recognize that the higher the level of community transmission, the greater the risk of infection.
A Virtual Thanksgiving Day
If you or a family member falls into one of the groups at highest risk of complications from COVID-19 — people who are older than 65 and have underlying health conditions or weakened immune systems — a virtual Thanksgiving might be your safest choice.
Instead of crowding around the dinner table, you can stay connected through virtual platforms such as Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet and Skype. Reminding yourself that social distancing and other coronavirus precautions are the best ways to protect your family and community will make it easier to give thanks for your health this year.
Getting Together in Person
If you choose to get together in person with family or friends for Thanksgiving, consider the following ideas for celebrating safely:
Know the Rate of Community Spread and Invite Guests Accordingly.
If you or your guests live in an area where the rate of community spread is high or growing, this may not be the year for a Thanksgiving feast.
Plan for Social Distancing
Get out your tape measure to determine the number of people that can gather and stay at least 6 feet apart.
Set Expectations
When you invite guests, be sure to let them know the rules everyone will need to follow. For example, advise guests that they should stay home if they feel sick. Tell guests that everyone will need to wear masks unless they’re eating or drinking and that you’ll expect people to stay socially distant.
You may also want to ask guests to self-isolate as much as possible for the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving to reduce risks.
Be Creative
Rather than gathering at the dining room table, move your dinner outside where the risk of transmission is lower, according to the CDC. If you can’t be outside due to space considerations or weather, try to have your Thanksgiving gathering in a large open space. Open windows, if possible, for greater ventilation.
Practice Good Hygiene
Everyone should wash hands often and avoid sharing utensils, food and drinks. You might also consider using disposable tablecloths and dinnerware to allow for easier disinfecting of surfaces after the meal.
Regardless of your plans this Thanksgiving, take these steps to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving!
These tips, provided by our research partner, AdventHealth, are available to you and others in the Lake Nona community to help make positive impacts on our health.