Health Experts Share Their Tips for Enjoying Thanksgiving Safely During COVID-19
Brace yourselves: Thanksgiving 2020 will be an unusual one. Despite hopes that the holidays would be unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that Americans will have to approach Thanksgiving with caution.
In recent days, the country’s top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, M.D., stresses that the holidays won’t be business as usual. “My Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year,” he said during an appearance on CBS Evening News. “You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering.”
The most important thing to remember this holiday season is that we’re all in this together. Just because you’re alright with increased risk doesn’t mean that other people in your household are, too—or the workers, neighbors, and strangers you interact with on a daily basis, for that matter. Thanksgiving has the potential to be a nationwide superspreader event, and it’s up to each of us to take the safety of others as seriously as we take our own.
With cases reaching record-breaking highs across the country and the worst of cold and flu season fast approaching, it’s time to reinvent the way we celebrate Turkey Day. It’s not all bad news, either—this year is a chance to try something new and less stressful. Here’s how experts recommend celebrating Thanksgiving this year, both for your own health and the safety of your loved ones.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has very guidance, breaking Thanksgiving celebrations into lower risk, moderate risk, and higher risk activities.
Lower risk activities
These are the Thanksgiving activities the CDC considers the lowest risk:
Having a small dinner with just people who live in your household
Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors, especially those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and delivering them in a way that doesn’t involve contact with others
Having a virtual dinner and sharing recipes with friends and family
Shopping online rather than in-person on Black Friday
Watching sports events, parades, and movies from home
Who can I invite to dinner? And how many people can I host?
In a perfect scenario, “it’s best to have less than 10 people” at your Thanksgiving dinner and “ideally just immediate family that you see daily,” says Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and a professor of medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University.
Keep in mind that Thanksgiving dinner “may be risky for older individuals and those with underlying conditions that place them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness to gather with individuals outside of their households,” says Amira Roess, Ph.D, an infectious disease expert and professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University in Virginia.
Proper pandemic hygiene is always important, but it’s crucial when you’re planning to host others. If you and your guests have taken it seriously, you can feel a little less worried about gathering—as long as you’re still wearing masks, washing your hands, and practicing social distancing. You should also avoid hugging, which is one of the quickest ways to expose someone to COVID-19.
“If you can’t adhere to those recommendations or if you realize that you may have been exposed,” Roess explains, “then for the sake of your loved ones who are older or have underlying conditions, it is better that you forego in-person celebrations with them.”
Can I have a Friendsgiving?
A small, household members-only gathering will be much safer than one that includes outsiders. Virtual gatherings, of course, are also totally safe.
But if you’ve been regularly seeing the same small group of people and have formed a bubble with them, it’s OK to celebrate the holiday with them, says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Give a little thought about how much time you want to spend with them and what’s been the nature of your relationship previously,” he says. “Find out what the ground rules will be once you all get together.” (See below for more on that.)
Moderate risk activities
The following activities are considered moderate risk, per the CDC:
Having a small outdoor dinner with family and friends who live in your community
Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
Attending a small outdoor sports events with safety precautions in place
Should you have dinner outside?
If people from beyond of your household are attending, you should strongly consider holding your celebration and dinner outside, weather permitting. “Outdoor gatherings are always preferable when you are bringing people together from different households,” Roess explains.
Transmission can still happen, especially as your guard starts to slip. “Individuals move closer and closer the longer they are around each other—this is very common human behavior,” she says. “Eating and drinking with individuals outside of your household is a known risk factor for COVID-19. When you eat or drink, it is better that you are further away than six feet from individuals outside of your household to reduce their risk of exposure.”
When you set up your outdoor Turkey Day spread, use as much space as possible, providing enough seating options to allow different household groups to remain distanced from each other. It won’t look like your usual Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s about as safe as you’ll be able manage.
Higher risk activities
The CDC recommends that people avoid these activities:
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
Attending large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your household
Gathering with anyone from outside of your household holds risk, especially if you’re in a confined space. Roess doesn’t want people to gather inside, but understands that this will probably happen anyway.
“You may want everyone to promise to self-quarantine before the get-together,” she suggests. “Having adequate space and ventilation in enclosed spaces are key to reducing the risk of exposure. Consider keeping windows open and arranging your space to facilitate social distancing. You can further cut down the risk of exposure by setting up multiple eating areas so that individuals from the same household sit together.”
If you, your guests, or people who come into contact with you and your guests are high-risk individuals, you should strongly consider sacrificing an indoor dinner this year.
But what if I got tested?
Some college campuses are testing their students for COVID-19 before they go home for Thanksgiving, raising the question of whether everybody should get tested before they gather for the holiday. But, while it could help let people know their COVID status in that moment, Dr. Watkins says it doesn’t give much useful information beyond that. “People can get exposed after they’re tested, and then infect others,” he points out. It can also give people a false sense of confidence about safety, he says.
Henry F. Raymond, Dr.P.H., associate director for public health at the Rutgers School of Public Health, agrees. “Testing is not a perfect strategy,” he says. “You could test negative on the virus today and still be spreading it tomorrow. Testing gives some peace of mind, but it isn’t perfect.”
Dr. Raymond urges people to think outside the box this year. “Cook the same meals and connect over Zoom, or cook a meal, deliver it to family members, and then connect over Zoom,” he says. “Think of alternatives to the traditional, and of ways to engage people but still not break your bubble.”
Are turkey trots still happening?
Although your local Thanksgiving Day 5K might still be on, you should reconsider attending. “Participating or being a spectator at a crowded race” is a high-risk activity, the CDC says. Instead, run an impromptu turkey trot by yourself or with members of your household, keeping at least six feet away from others and wearing a mask if you can.
What’s going on with Black Friday?
The biggest shopping day of the year is also a breeding ground for COVID-19. Even if you’re usually in line before the crack of dawn, you should strongly consider sleeping in this year—you could prevent fellow shoppers and retail workers from falling ill.
“Traditional Black Friday shopping often includes long lines of people from different households standing very close to each other—this is a recipe for outbreaks,” Roess explains.
Instead, you should follow the lead of major retailers, many of which are closing on Thanksgiving, moving sales online, and spreading Black Friday deals across the holiday season to avoid crowding.
Shopping of any kind on or near the holiday is best avoided. “Avoid the last-minute runs to the grocery store to reduce the risk of infection to yourself, the grocery store workers, and others in your community,” Roess advises. “This holiday season will have to be different than our traditional ones.”
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