KEEP THE TURKEY, DITCH THE COMPANY
Bridgeporters figure out safe Thanksgiving plans
BRIDGEPORT — Between the hearty Thanksgiving spread and the family coming over to feast on it, Betty Cook is used to having a packed apartment during the upcoming, food- centric holiday.
“I got turkey. I got ribs. I got ham. I got macaroni and cheese. Collard greens. I got string beans. Yellow turnips. Dressing. Potato salad. And sweet potato pie,” Cook, 77, a public housing resident and chairman of the Housing Authority’s board, said of her traditional menu.
But because of the coronavirus pandemic, Cook will be offering take- out only Thursday: “I’m going to plate whatever they want. When they call me ( from my building’s entrance), I’ll buzz them in. They come to the door, pick up their food, go home and enjoy.”
Cook would advise other house
holds to do the same to avoid spreading the illness that has killed more than 252,000 Americans. The elderly are particularly vulnerable, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with,” the CDC warned Thursday. “Gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting or spreading COVID- 19.”
That is the message Lisa Morrissey, Bridgeport’s health director, and Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration have been emphasizing all month, especially as Connecticut’s largest city continues to experience a massive spike in coronavirus cases.
Morrissey, who lives in Danbury, said in an interview this week that she and her family will be “practicing what we preach.”
She has relatives spread out in Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Arizona and overseas, and normally they all travel to her home for the holiday.
“I think the smallest ( Thanksgiving) we ever had was 35, 40 people,” Morrissey said. “This will be the first year we are not getting together for Thanksgiving. It will be just my husband, kids and I.”
They will teleconference with other relatives, she said.
The CDC has offered detailed safety tips to those who insist on getting together. But, Morrissey noted, that list of recommendations, that include bringing your own food, drinks, plates, cups and utensils and offering single- use items like disposable salad dressings and condiments “really is overwhelming.”
“When I talked to my sisters and we were looking at it, I said, ‘ Which one of you thinks mom will be okay with us bringing in their own glasses and plates?’ ” Morrissey recalled. “If I, as a public health official, decided we couldn’t pull that off in my own family, that says something. ... I’m hoping a lot of people out there elect to stay home and just celebrate with their own household.”
Morrissey attributed a recent uptick in COVID- 19 testing — with people complaining on social media of long lines and waits — to not only the statewide jump in infections but people seeking assurance they can in good conscience see loved ones and friends in person this week.
“I talked to four different people today asking me, ‘ When should I get tested for Thanksgiving?’ ” Morrissey said.
But her answer was not a simple one: “COVID- 19 testing is just a snapshot in time. And a negative result doesn’t necessary mean you’re not infected. It could mean you tested at the wrong time ( and) the sample didn’t show the virus at a high enough concentration to be measured.”
Former City Council President Thomas McCarthy’s large Irish family typically gathers at his parents for Thanksgiving.
Not this year.
“It’s very sad. We’re a close family but we’re also a busy family. This and Christmas are the two times we really get to spend an entire day with everybody in the same place at the same time, and that means a lot to me, frankly,” he said. “But it’s more important we all stay healthy. It’s a sacrifice, but if everybody sacrifices, we’ll get through the COVID more quickly.”
Anthony Bennett, pastor of Mount Aery Baptist Church, had before the pandemic struck in March been planning to fly with his family to Los Angeles to celebrate Thanksgiving with his 87- year- old mother, his sisters, brothers- inlaw and others. They canceled months ago.
Bennett admitted that the decision to have a quiet Thanksgiving at home with his household — his wife, their son and their young granddaughter — was not just the safest but helpful financially. Still, he acknowledged feeling badly about being unable to see his mother in person.
“I’m the only son. My profession is eulogizing dead people. You think about, ‘ Is my mother going to be a victim of it ( coronavirus)?’ She’s susceptible,” Bennett said. “( There is) the emotional tug of wanting to see her. My wife is close to her, so wanting my wife to see her and our granddaughter and my son. It is a toll.”
As a Bridgeport- based funeral home director, Andre Baker has witnessed first hand the carnage coronavirus has caused. He said his business is starting to see the same kind of activity as during the spring, before Connecticut managed to temporarily be one of the few states to get the illness’ spread somewhat under control.
“I’m out here picking up these COVID people ( corpses) again. ... It’s going back to how it was in March, April,” Baker said. “I’ll be home ( for Thanksgiving), pretty much staying low- key. Just stay home, because it’s no joke, man. It’s no joke.”
Others in Bridgeport said they were still trying to figure out their holiday plans. City Councilman Scott Burns was considering visiting his sister in New Haven for an outdoor, tail- gating style meal.
“We might do — how’d she put it — ‘ Thanks- gating,’ ” Burns said. He said his family will not mind if the temperatures are not ideal, although as of Friday the weather forecast predicted showers.
For state Rep. Christopher Rosario, Thanksgiving has meant gathering together, sometimes with more than 30 people, for lots of food and plenty of football on television. This year, that crowd will be greatly reduced and staggered shifts introduced.
“We still want to celebrate, but in a safe manner,” Rosario said. “Maybe five people come for the 1 p. m. or 4 p. m. game and the other folks come for the other game.”
He added attendees must wear masks, keep their distance, use sanitizer.
Still, already a few have backed out: “We understand. This is the year when people should not feel offended if somebody says, ‘ Hey, I’m not coming.’ ”
And Rosario, who has had family members who were infected with coronavirus, admitted he and his wife may have second thoughts about hosting anything.
“If you call me on Monday or Tuesday, I might be like, ‘ Hey, we just canceled,’ ” he said. “We wouldn’t be in cramped quarters, but you never know.”
Despite all of the warnings local, state and national health experts are issuing to the public, Morrissey said she fears the repercussions if many households choose to ignore them.
“You talk to public health professional across the state and everyone is similarly concerned about what we’re going experience ( in terms of cases) that first week of December as a result of Thanksgiving,” she said.