Thanksgiving During COVID

This post was originally published on November 22, 2020
The latest update to this post was made 2 years ago.

The upcoming holidays will look different than they have in years past.  The COVID Pandemic has everyone rethinking family and friend gatherings; plus, the recommendations from local governments and the [Centers for Disease Control (CDC)].

The CDC has several [guidelines] people should follow.  The main summary is that if you gather with people you increase your chance of getting or spreading COVID.  Many people are asymptomatic which means they are carriers and show no signs of COVID.  They do provide tips and suggestions of how to have a safe gathering.

People are wanting to spend time with family and friends and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.  There are ways you can still connect with each other and feel some of that togetherness.  Technology is more advanced than when the Spanish Flu of 1918 tore through the world killing 50 million people worldwide.  They seemed to make the best of a dire situation and so should we.

We have facetime, phones, tango, email, skype, zoom, chat rooms, blogs, chat boards and video calls that can all be used to connect with our family and friends.  This makes connecting much easier even though it’s not the same as being there in person.  Thanksgiving can be shared with family via video calls.  That table chatter can still take place, but with a distance that is safe.

Outside gatherings can be a fun way to celebrate if the weather is nice.  Make sure you follow guidelines for gathering size.  The CDC suggests you bring your own food and still follow the 6 feet apart guideline.  If you cook for everyone you might consider having one person in a mask and with gloves serve the food and try to use single use condiments and bottled drinks.  This will reduce the cross-contamination risk to others.

Traditions will change for some this coming holiday season.  Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is changing as well.  They are working on ways to make the parade safe for all participants and enjoyable for viewers.  The bottom line is to mask up, wash your hands and use your common sense.  Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: #covid #thanksgiving2020