Keep your gathering small and don’t travel

With the number of coronavirus cases on the rise in nearly every state, officials have a straightforward message about Thanksgiving: Don’t hold large gatherings this year.

From coast to coast, governors and other officials are imposing restrictions ahead of Thanksgiving and imploring residents to be wary of the risk of transmission of Covid-19 at home or during their travels.

In New York City, a state on the brink of a second wave of coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced that all gatherings must be capped at 10 people – even in private homes. The limit was imposed after an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases at small indoor gatherings around Halloween, Cuomo says, and brings New York into line with health measures already in place in other states, such than Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

In neighboring New Jersey, where the rate of coronavirus positivity is skyrocketing, Gov. Phil Murphy this week issued restrictions on bars and restaurants, but added that single-family residences are causing a big deal. part of the upward trend in cases.

“When it comes to your private setting, we just have to implore people not to let their guard down, to keep your gatherings as small as possible, and to keep fighting that,” Murphy said on Thursday on “TODAY”. .

“Don’t let your hair down, even when you are at home, even when you are celebrating the holidays with your loved ones,” he added.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is to spend it with your own household, given that even asymptomatic people can spread Covid-19.

If you are spending the vacation at someone else’s, the CDC suggests bringing your own plates and utensils, avoiding entering and leaving areas where food is prepared and wearing a mask when not eating. . The federal health agency encouraged having a Thanksgiving meal outside, setting expectations in advance on how to celebrate safely and designating a person to serve the food.

In Texas, the first state in the country to surpass more than a million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, the top Austin-area public health official urged to reconsider Thanksgiving plans with extended family.

“The strongest advice is not to get together with people outside of your home on Thanksgiving,” said Dr. Mark Escott, according to The Austin American-Statesman. “If you choose to do this, despite the very strong advice not to do it, it is important to do other things to protect yourself.”

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And in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the State Department of Public Health said last month that singing, singing or shouting – which increases the release of respiratory droplets and fine aerosols – is discouraged at holiday gatherings. inside.

Because travel increases your chances of getting and spreading Covid-19, staying home for Thanksgiving is “the best way to protect yourself and others,” the CDC said.

This direction is echoed in communities across the country.

“I hate to say it, but I have to urge all New Yorkers: don’t travel out of state for vacation,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said last month. “Know that by doing this, unfortunately, you could be putting yourself and your family in danger.”

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker had made the same recommendation a week earlier, acknowledging that it was “a very unpopular thing to say.”

“It could be a good year for not traveling,” Baker said. “One of the things that creates the spread is a whole group of people who are in a place where they can be safe and unaffected by this trip to another place and vice versa.”

Thanksgiving comes at a perilous time for the pandemic, as cooler weather across much of the country forces more people to stay indoors, leading to a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases as fatigue follows measures security is installed.

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And people often mistakenly assume they’ll be safe if they just trust friends and family in their homes, said Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease doctor.

“They almost subconsciously let their guard down,” Fauci told The New York Times this month. “They don’t realize that they came from several cities, that they spent time in airports. They come to a house where grandma and grandfather is, or someone with an underlying disease, and they innocently and inadvertently bring the infection into a home. It’s dangerous. You must be prudent.