Doctors, CDC caution against holiday family gatherings
Even as families are pulling out their favorite Thanksgiving recipes and shopping for Christmas gifts, the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening.
And although Americans have looked forward to celebrating the upcoming holidays after enduring a challenging 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and local physicians are recommending that they postpone family gatherings to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“Extended family and big groups and traveling are not a good idea,” said Dr. Thomas Corkery, chief medical officer at Allegheny Health Network Canonsburg Hospital. “People really have to reconsider (gatherings). There will be many more holidays, and you want to make sure the people you love are around for those holidays.”
According to the CDC, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is to celebrate only with people in your household, and meet virtually with the others.
If you do plan to spend Thanksgiving with friends and family outside your household, make sure to take steps to make your celebration safer.
Dr. Anna-Binney McCague, a physician at WHS Washington Hospital, said she is foregoing her annual family Thanksgiving dinner.
“Remember when you are making these decisions that you are risking not just yourself and your family members at the gathering, but everyone they come in contact with,” she said in an email. “Though you may be low risk for serious complications of COVID, there is no predicting for sure who will get seriously ill, and even people who do not require hospitalization often feel very sick.”
Get-togethers are more dangerous when there are high levels of virus in the community, “and cases are clearly spiking everywhere,” Corkery said.
While Southwestern Pennsylvania was largely spared during the first wave of coronavirus, it has not escaped the current surge.
The incidence rate in Washington County over the last seven days was 150.6 per 100,000, with a positivity rate of 9.5%; in Greene County, those figures were 216.4 and 9.6%.
“A lot of people are still walking around not wearing masks or social distancing, and mostly it’s because COVID hasn’t happened to them yet. It hasn’t hit home. But when someone they love gets sick or dies, or they get sick, then it’s going to hit home,” said Corkery.
Corkery and McCague said if people decide to host gatherings in their homes with people they don’t live with, they should exercise caution: wear masks, limit the number of guests, take precautions with how they prepare and eat food together, social distance, and celebrate outside if possible.
The CDC, too, recommends taking steps to make Thanksgiving safer: bring your own food, drinks, plates, cups, and utensils; use single-use products like salad dressing and condiment packets, and disposable items like food containers, plates, and utensils; and clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and items between use.
In addition, if celebrating indoors, open windows to increase ventilation.
Corkery acknowledged that pandemic fatigue has set in. But people need to weigh the risk of unknowingly infecting someone they love, especially if there are elderly or immunocompromised people in their families, he said.
And both doctors acknowledged the surge in COVID-19 cases is beginning to overwhelm hospitals and strain health care workers and resources.
Said McCague: “We appreciate everything everyone does to stay safe. We know this is a very difficult and stressful time, and that people want to gather for the holidays more than ever. But we urge everyone to follow CDC and state health department guidance and connect virtually rather than in person this season.”