Let’s be honest: the longer the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, the harder it is to give up our treasured traditions. For many Americans like myself, Thanksgiving is one of the most important traditions. My extended family has gotten together, sometimes traveling far distances to do so, for a big Thanksgiving dinner for as long as I can remember. It’s important to me, I want it for my kids, and after so many months of social distancing I really want to spend time in the same room as my family.
But.
This Thanksgiving, we will celebrate in our own separate homes in front of the video chat and I strongly encourage and ask you and your family do the same, for their and your own protection. Read on for reasons why.
The CDC has reported several outbreaks and cases of COVID-19 spread this summer and fall at social and family gatherings and in households in Ohio, Maine, Tennessee and Wisconsin. As many public gatherings are closing and schools and workplaces are implementing COVID-19 restrictions, more and more cases are being spread by social and family contact instead of public contact. And as important as the contacts are for so very many of us, the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing yet again, and gathering together indoors with others outside our households is very risky for the spread of COVID-19.
Consider, too, the case in Canada. Canadian Thanksgiving was on October 12 this year. New cases of COVID-19 had been slowly rising in the days before and just after their Thanksgiving. However, new cases and deaths markedly increased about 2 weeks after Canadian Thanksgiving, coinciding with the incubation period (time between exposure and start of illness) for COVID-19.
If you’re torn about whether to celebrate Thanksgiving in-person with others, then Georgia Tech has a very helpful COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool. Simply move the slider to reflect the number of people you expect to be at your event (anywhere from 10 people to 5,000 – although I really hope no one reading this is planning to go to an event with 5,000 other people) and then hover over the county it will occur in to see the estimated chance that at least 1 person infected with COVID-19 will be at the event. As you can see, the more people will be at the event, the higher risk that at least 1 of them will have COVID-19. Additionally, the risk of at least 1 person having COVID-19 at gatherings as small as 10 people is near or above 50% throughout much of the Midwest and Mountain states.
With risk levels so high in some parts of the U.S., areas with risks of 10% or 20% might seem relatively low-risk. But are they? Are you willing to take a 1 in 5 chance, or even a 1 in 10 chance, of infecting one of your loved ones on Thanksgiving? I’m not.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, it’s about more than protecting yourself; it’s about protecting your loved ones. As much as I want to see and be in the same room as my parents again, I also don’t want to put them at risk of COVID-19. My parents are over 65, as perhaps some of yours may be as well, and in high risk groups for severe COVID-19 infection. I’m relatively young and healthy and COVID-19 probably wouldn’t be too bad for me; I could even have an asymptomatic (no symptoms) infection without even realizing it. But, COVID-19 could be deadly for my parents and as much as I’d love to hug them, I will not put them at that risk.
If, after weighing your options, you decide to attend or host an in-person Thanksgiving gathering nonetheless, then please at least wear a mask and ask others at the event to wear one as well, stay at least 6 feet away from anyone who doesn’t live in your house (yes, even your parents and siblings), wash your hands before eating and after touching any high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, keep your gathering as small as possible (ideally less than 10 people), hold it outside if the weather permits it, and don’t share food, plates or utensils. Read more tips to safely celebrate Thanksgiving at the CDC website.
Stay safe, stay home, and protect your family this Thanksgiving,
🦃 Dr. B