’Tis the season to rethink Thanksgiving
In this pandemic year, let’s put health first
Social media platforms are fickle playgrounds. We’ve mostly moved from shaming folks about who they voted for in the presidential election, and have turned to shaming those who plan to gather with extended family to celebrate Thanksgiving.
I’m not here to shame you. But I certainly will throw some shade.
With surging coronavirus numbers — more than 100,000 new cases per day nationally, more than 1,000 Americans dying daily and hospitalizations at an all-time high — there really should be no debate. COVID-19 has canceled traditional Thanksgiving.
I understand that Americans are weary. We’ve been cooped up for months, unable to socialize with family and friends. But the virus is raging, and multigenerational gatherings will do nothing but further spread the highly transmissible disease. At the risk of sounding like the Thanksgiving Grinch, let me be clear: A big feast with all of your loved ones is unnecessary, perhaps even immoral, during a global pandemic.
Our friends and family are getting sick, and we are overwhelming hospital workers. I have a dear friend in Chicago who is fighting COVID-19. Her fiancé is also positive, but he has no symptoms. That is how this disease spreads, and even a small gathering with an asymptomatic person could mean someone else will contract it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who met last week with USA TODAY’s Editorial Board, emphasized this point when discussing his family’s decision to scale back Thanksgiving. His three adult daughters live in different areas of the country — the West Coast, the Northeast, and the South — and would need to travel to Washington, D.C., to visit. After discussions about possible quarantining and rapid testing, his daughters decided the possibly of being infected, asymptomatic and passing it on to their father, who turns 80 next month, was just not worth the risk.
“So we decided that my wife and I are going to say we had a great Thanksgiving last year and we’re looking forward to a great Thanksgiving next year,” Fauci said. “But today we’re going to call a timeout. We’re going to have a meal, we’re going to get on Zoom, and we’re going to chat for an hour or two with the girls as we eat and drink together in the house.”
Each day, local and state officials are ramping up restrictions as cases soar. Many of them have banned large Thanksgiving gatherings. Their actions are not about our rights being violated, but truly a matter of life or death.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shut down in-person classes at high schools and colleges, along with indoor dining, casinos and movie theaters for three weeks. “We are in the worst moment of this pandemic to date,” Whitmer said. “The situation has never been more dire.”
None of these decisions has been made lightly. These elected officials are following data, medical professionals and science. They want to save lives, but they must also balance the devastating economic realities that accompany sustained shutdowns.
There is a direct correlation between reopening businesses and loosening social distancing restrictions in recent months and the spike in new cases. Flattening-the-curve efforts that were successful this spring have been largely abandoned, ushering in a new and deadly phase of the disease as the weather turns colder this fall.
Americans aren’t doing all that is needed to beat back the coronavirus. People have become lax, hosting parties and widening their social circles. We must resist this on Thanksgiving. Absolutely cook your turkey and stuffing, but keep festivities inside the small bubble of those who live with you.
There are those who argue that the vast majority of Americans are wearing masks yet coronavirus is still spreading. Sure, we’ve all witnessed people donning masks when they run to the grocery store or pharmacy. The problem is what people are doing behind closed doors. It’s what we don’t see that is contributing to surging numbers of cases.
“Many of the infections now today are in innocent family and friend dinner gatherings at home because of the almost intuitive instinct that, when you’re with family and friends and nobody appears to be physically ill, it’s OK to congregate 10 or 12 people for drinks or for a meal or what have you,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “But it’s indoors because the weather is cold. That’s where we’re seeing these types of outbreaks. As we get into the colder weather, we should really think twice about these kind of dinner parties.”
Everything seems so grim right now. The holidays are upon us, and we are unable to seek the comfort of grandma’s pies or hugs from our favorite aunt. I implore all of us suffering — I haven’t seen my family in Ohio since late January — to hold on to hope.
There is a bright glimmer. The news about two effective vaccines candidates is certainly promising. Imagine an opportunity to gather next year feeling carefree and without restrictions such as dining outside.
This holiday season, let’s make it our mission to keep those we love healthy. Wear a mask, wash your hands, stop hanging out with your friends and stay home if you can.
There’s an added bonus: You can avoid discussing politics with the extended family.