How To Keep your Holiday Gathering Safe During A Pandemic
Starting in May I began caring for patients that are now classified as having post-COVID syndrome or “long-haulers.” This is the term given to COVID survivors that have symptoms lasting weeks and months beyond their initial illness. The typical “long haul” symptoms are fatigue, brain fog, headaches, shortness of breath and body aches, often debilitating and requiring weeks and months away from work. These are people that did not have severe acute COVID symptoms and were not hospitalized. They are otherwise healthy people in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Unfortunately it is still too early to know the longer term prognosis of these patients. Also, it is unknown why different people have such varied immune responses and recoveries from the virus, or why some people die within a few weeks. Despite these unknowns, there are some ways to engage with your family and friends this season, but it will (and should) look different.
The COVID pandemic has required us to make many tough decisions this year. Now with the holiday season upon us, we are again faced with more decisions about the safety of gathering with loved ones. The emotional toll of wrestling with these decisions will add even more stress to the holidays. There may be guilt if we meet and someone becomes ill, but also guilt and sadness if we don’t see our loved ones or contribute to family traditions. Indeed, the frustration and fatigue with pandemic precautions and protocols are high. Even as the rate of infections in our community climbs, there is a temptation to pretend the virus is behind us or that it is no longer a health threat. In fact, cases have risen again in the United States to record levels.
This holiday season and upcoming winter present new challenges for everyone. I encourage you to continue to be vigilant about protecting you and your loved ones from the virus. Several well respected medical authorities have published information to help you make an informed decision about your gatherings. I have summarized the information below, but I encourage you to go to the source for the best and most current information.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Holiday Celebrations
WebMD COVID Safety During the Upcoming Holidays
WebMD We Asked Five Experts for COVID Thanksgiving Advice
Virus spread risk at holiday celebrations
Celebrating virtually or with members of your own household poses low risk for spread. In-person gatherings pose varying levels of risk. There are several factors that contribute to the risk of getting infected or infecting others with the virus that causes COVID-19 at a holiday celebration. In combination, these factors will create various amounts of risk, so it is important to consider them individually and together:
Community levels of COVID-19 – Higher levels of COVID-19 cases and community spread in the gathering location, as well as where attendees are coming from, increase the risk of infection and spread among attendees. Family and friends should consider the number and rate of COVID-19 cases in their community and in the community where they plan to celebrate when considering whether to host or attend a holiday celebration. For example, information on the number of cases in Indiana are updated daily by the Indiana State Department of Health. Information on the number of cases in an other parts of the country can be found on the local area’s health department website.
The location of the gathering – Indoor gatherings generally pose more risk than outdoor gatherings. Indoor gatherings with poor ventilation pose more risk than those with good ventilation, such as those with open windows or doors. Eating outside weather permitting helps reduce risk, but gathering should still be kept small and , and you might want to take extra precautions if there is someone at risk.
The duration of the gathering – Gatherings that last longer pose more risk than shorter gatherings. Consider limiting your gathering to 90 minutes.
The number of people at the gathering – Gatherings with more people pose more risk than gatherings with fewer people. CDC does not have a limit or recommend a specific number of attendees for gatherings. The size of a holiday gathering should be determined based on the ability to reduce or limit contact between attendees, the risk of spread between attendees, and local health and safety rules.
The Georgia Institute for Technology has created a tool that allows you to calculate the estimated chance that one or more individuals are COVID positive at an event given the size and location of the event. The tool takes into consideration local COVID incident data in real time. For example, on November 1st, in a gathering of 15 people in Indiana there is a 4.9% chance that someone is COVID-19 positive. A group of 25 people in Indiana on the same date has an 8.1% chance that someone is COVID-19 positive.
The behaviors of attendees prior to the gathering – Have an honest conversation with the attendees of your gathering before deciding to meet. Take into consideration the exposure risk of the other attendees in the past 10-14 days and their general adherence to preventative behaviors. Gatherings with attendees who are not adhering to social distancing (staying at least 6 feet apart), mask wearing, hand washing, and other prevention behaviors routinely pose more risk than gatherings with attendees who are engaging in these preventative behaviors.
The behaviors of attendees during the gathering – Gatherings with more preventive measures in place, such as mask wearing, social distancing, and hand washing, pose less risk than gatherings where fewer or no preventive measures are being implemented. Eating together requires masks be removed. Consider planning a celebration that involves an activity other than eating such as a hike.
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