This will be our first holiday season since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are some unique considerations to staying healthy while also seeing family and friends this year.
With people traveling from afar and being in close personal contact with one another, these types of gatherings are a prime opportunity for the spread of COVID-19.
Even though most of these considerations may be common sense, hopefully they can serve as a useful reminder when planning your holiday festivities.
- It’s always a good idea to ask your host about who else is invited to the gathering and whether consideration has been given to their potential for COVID-19 exposure. Hosts will differ in their level of care in this regard.
- If you have friends or family who are at risk of developing complications from COVID-19, encourage these people to stay home, as much as that may not be ideal or fun for them.
- This season, driving is preferable to travel via public transportation that may expose you to the disease. If you have friends or family across the country, consider having several gatherings that are clustered by region rather than having everyone converging on the same location.
- When serving food at parties, have one person serve everyone in order to limit who has contact with the food, rather than having everyone serve themselves.
- After attending a gathering, stay alert for COVID-19 symptoms and give yourself a few days without excessive contact with others just in case. If you think you may have symptoms, get tested and quarantine as necessary.
It’s important to remember that while this holiday season will be a little different, and perhaps less than ideal, things won’t be like this forever, and, in due time, we will be back to the holiday festivities we all love!
