How to reduce your risk during Thanksgiving.
For Thanksgiving this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying home and celebrating with the people you live with; or connecting virtually to people in other households. But if you choose to host or attend a gathering, there are ways to reduce the risks.
• “Remember it’s a numbers game,” says Isabel Valdez, a physician assistant and assistant professor of general internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Given the rate of transmission in the Houston area, she recommends that gatherings be limited to fewer than five. This year, it’s not “the more the merrier,” she says. It’s “the fewer, the safer.”
• Before the gathering, the host should discuss precautions with the guests. Remind everyone to be cautious about symptoms. If a guest develops even minor symptoms a day or two before, or the day of, they should stay home. If the host does, they should cancel. The food will keep, Valdez says: “The best part of Thanksgiving is the leftovers.”
• Getting a COVID-19 test before the gathering is great, Valdez said. But remember that testing negative only means that you were probably not infected at the time your sample was collected. Don’t ignore symptoms that develop in the days after the test. And if you’re trying to protect the people at the gathering, take extreme precautions not to expose yourself to COVID between the time you’re tested and the big day.
• Wear a mask, the CDC recommends, especially if anyone in the group is at increased risk for getting very sick fromCO
VID-19. Wear them even at the dinner table, Valdez says, until it is time to eat
• Stay at least 6 feet from people who do not live with you. “We’re used to thinking of people catching COVID from being in close proximity to strangers in restaurants and gyms,” said Valdez. “But home can be a hot spot.”
• Have guests bring their own food, drink, plates, cups and utensils, or use disposables, the CDC recommends.
• If you are serving or preparing shared food, Valdez says,
remember to wear a mask and wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds or more, both before and after.
• Limit the number of people in the food-preparation area, the CDC recommends. If sharing food, don’t serve buffet style. Designate one person to serve it.
• Eat outside, if the weather permits and you can maintain a safe distance from other groups. (A crowded apartment courtyard or park is a bad idea, Valdez says.)
• If you can’t eat outside, open windows and doors for ventila
tion, and turn on fans. Valdez recommends setting up small serving tables and eating areas throughout the house.
Watch your drinks, Valdez warns. Avoid leaving them unattended so that no one accidentally drinks after you.
• Avoid passing plates or condiments, sharing food or eating off each other’s plates, Valdez says.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and items between uses, the CDC recommends. Serve condiments in single-use packets.
• If you’re the host, Valdez says, keep hand sanitizer, soap and clean towels readily available for guests.
• Wash your hands before, during and after the visit. When hand-washing isn’t possible, the CDC recommends using hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
• If you develop symptoms after the event, Valdez says, inform the other people at the gathering.