While the safest option for Thanksgiving is to avoid meeting people from outside your home, there are still steps you can take to reduce the risk if you are planning on traveling.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently Recommended that people not travel over ThanksgivingThis explains that the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to avoid meeting people outside of your household.
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However, if you plan to travel or hang out with people outside of your household, the CDC and other health groups have issued guidelines on how to continue to limit the risks of COVID-19.
The CDC’s Thanksgiving guidelines Suggest that you keep each gathering small and eat outdoors if possible. If you need to eat inside, try to keep windows and doors open for the best possible ventilation.
A more detailed one CDC Guide to Holiday Celebrations and Small Gatherings says if you choose to eat outdoors under a tent, you should still try to sit in a way that adheres to social distancing guidelines. The best option for a tent is an open-air, fold-out tent. However, if the weather forces you to use a 4-wall tent, the CDC recommends either keeping one wall open or rolling up the bottom 12 inches on each side wall. This improves the ventilation in the tent.
Basic COVID-19 preventive measures like hand washing and wearing masks continue to be useful during Thanksgiving celebrations. The CDC recommends that everyone wear a mask when not eating or drinking, including when partying outside. Anyone who arrives should wash their hands immediately and do so again before handling things and again when they leave.
The CDC also says you should try not to sing or yell during Thanksgiving celebrations and use contactless trash cans when you have them.
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While the CDC mandates that you should clean and disinfect commonly used surfaces and items such as serving utensils, the CDC believes that one person – wearing a mask – should be responsible for serving food to everyone to avoid common contact Decrease serving items.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that you use contactless food delivery for any ingredient or menu item, and cook the turkey on an outdoor grill or turkey fryer to ensure meal prep as well. Guests should be encouraged to bring their own paraphernalia and groceries for Thanksgiving gatherings, according to the CDC.
While both the CDC and AAP believe that having a virtual Thanksgiving meal with video calling apps is the best option and shorter gatherings are better than longer celebrations, both have tips for travel and overnight stays.
Both say that traveling in a private car is better than traveling by plane, train, or bus if you can. The CDC warns against air travel because it can be difficult to socially distance yourself inside the aircraft, airport terminal, and security lines, but they recommend doing so whenever possible and always wearing a mask. For private road travel, the AAP says you should always wear a mask whenever you get gasoline and that you should plan and pack your meals in advance so you don’t have to stop at restaurants along the way.
The CDC says students returning home from school should be treated as overnight guests. Every overnight guest, including returning home students, should immediately stow their luggage away from public areas and wash masks and clothing separately. People from different households should wear masks both indoors and outdoors when they are not eating or drinking and should wash their hands regularly for 20 seconds, especially upon arrival. The CDC again recommends improving ventilation by keeping windows and doors open whenever possible. College students can be treated as household members after 14 days of taking guest precautions if they stay longer, health experts say.
Finally, hosts and guests alike should be monitored for symptoms of COVID-19. And if you have recently been diagnosed with COVID-19, have symptoms of COVID-19, have recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or if you are at high risk of serious illness, you should definitely not attend gatherings of any kind. There are already risks associated with travel and gatherings, but the risks are even greater when people are included in these groups.
