Plan for a safe, blessed Thanksgiving

There’s good reason why the day before Thanksgiving is the largest travel day of the year: Of all holidays celebrated in the U.S., Thanksgiving is the one most associated with gathering together with family and friends, many of whom live in other towns and states. College students come home and get together with their high school friends; young families take their children to grandma’s house, and one relative or another hosts dinner for aunts, uncles and cousins.

The day before Thanksgiving is also traditionally a time for social get-togethers at bars, particularly among the just-home-fromcollege crowd, making it one of the biggest drinking nights of the year, comparable to New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day for warnings about drinking and driving.

Unlike the December holidays of tree decorating and gift giving, and unlike the summer beach and barbecue outings, Thanksgiving is all about socializing indoors with friends and family. The highlight of the day is enjoying a meal together with the traditional turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie.

Not this year. Sitting down at a dinner table with a large group of people comes with a danger warning. That meal tradition is risky.

The pandemic that started last winter has spread, stayed around and become re-energized — like an annoying uncle who doesn’t know when to get up from the dinner table and go home. And now we face trying to get out of its way while preserving some sense of normalcy.

COVID-19 is spreading in Pennsylvania with a vengeance — nearly 5,000 new cases a day with hospitals filling up and at risk of being overwhelmed. State Health Secretary Rachel Levine on Tuesday tightened the mitigation guidelines in Pennsylvania, mandating mask wearing with very few exceptions, putting in place testing or quarantine measures for anyone traveling across state lines and emphasizing anew the importance of contact tracing and social distancing.

In Montgomery County, the county health department ordered schools closed for the two weeks following Thanksgiving with a mandate for virtual learning across all grade levels.

“Given what we have been seeing since Halloween we’re deeply concerned about a significant spike of cases following Thanksgiving,” county Commissioners’ Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh said. “… We are advising to take a pause around the Thanksgiving holiday and go to virtual education in the hopes that it will protect the students, the teachers and staff so that they can come back in-person.”

County officials, echoing recommendations made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said those who have COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone with the virus should not participate in Thanksgiving festivities.

Health officials urged residents to maintain a distance of at least 6-feet or more from people you don’t live with and to abide by handwashing recommendations and to clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and shared items between uses. Residents should minimize gestures that promote close contact. For example, do not shake hands, elbow bump or give hugs. Instead, wave and verbally greet others, officials recommended. A face mask or face shield should be worn at all times. A face mask should not leave gaps around your face and should be secure under your chin, county health officials advised.

The CDC guidelines list activities that are high risk:

• Attending large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your household

• Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on, or after Thanksgiving

• Participating or being a spectator at a crowded race

• Attending crowded parades

• Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgment and increase risky behaviors

Most advised are activities of low risk, namely, having dinner with those who live in your household and keeping other contact virtual.

In the guidance, officials also addressed holiday travel, emphasizing that traveling on planes, trains and public transportation can increase the chances of catching or spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect against spread of the virus, health officials said.

Thanksgiving is about sharing a moment to count our blessings and be grateful for the bounty of our lives in whatever measure that comes. This Thanksgiving is also about protecting ourselves and others so that we can share many more. Let’s be thankful for the opportunity to get to the other side of this pandemic with our health and households intact.