It will be holidays at home for many families

Families ruling out travel, preparing to spend a quiet holiday season at home

The holidays have been weighing heavily on Lesly Kelly's mind.

Typically, the toughest decision she would have to make is where to spend them — either with her sister in Winnipeg, her brother in Edmonton or her parents in Kelowna.

While she opted to remain in Saskatoon for Thanksgiving, optimistic that COVID-19 might be reined in to some degree by Christmas, it became apparent early on that her decision had been made for her, she said.

“My mom is immunocompromised. I didn't want to travel through at least three airports and possibly take something to her,” she said. “Winnipeg is in a red zone, so it's very unlikely that I would go there. And cases are just rising every day here, as well as everywhere else in Canada.

“So that's pretty much solidified my decision on not going anywhere.”

She isn't alone. Many Canadians are having the same discussion as they try to navigate rising COVID-19 cases across the provinces and restrictions that vary between them.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned Canadians that a normal Christmas is out of the question. The government is hesitant to put sweeping interprovincial travel restrictions in place, although some provinces have recommended against travel.

Officials in Western Canada and Ontario have cautioned that holidays should be spent only with people in the same household, while Quebec's novel plan to briefly relax gathering restrictions if people self-isolate before and afterward is in jeopardy, with rising cases and hospitalizations.

In Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe has not closed the door on easing gathering limits if case numbers drop.

Whether groups of more than five people will be able to celebrate together is up in the air as officials wait to see whether current measures, in place until Dec. 17, are effective.

Saskatchewan reported 238 new cases on Wednesday; active cases sat just under 4,000.

The province is third in Canada for active cases and new cases per 100,000 people.

Any relaxations to restrictions would have to be cautious, chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab said, noting that they would have to balanced with the risk of a rebound in January.

“Whatever our case numbers are, it will be a very different Christmas from last year,” Shahab said.

Since cases in Alberta surged in mid-november, Alexis Kienlen and her partner have known for months they wouldn't be able to make the trip from Edmonton to see her parents in Saskatoon.

“To me, it just seems like I feel like all the signs are pointing to `don't go,' ” Kienlen said. “I'd rather just stay home and be safe and not risk anything.”

Kienlen said she sees it as a chance to have a quiet Christmas with her partner and the puppy they welcomed into their home this spring to stave off the isolation of lockdown.

Kelly said she would love to have restrictions eased a bit so she could spend the holidays with another household, but it ultimately comes down to case numbers.

“I would, of course, be happy to join some actual people in person that day, rather than just virtually. But I don't know if that's even the best plan,” she said.

“If we keep increasing in the lead-up to Christmas, then it's probably not smart for anyone to go outside their household — it's all up in the air.”