Thanksgiving is mere days away. This is a time usually spent with friends and family, gathered around a table together, sharing a meal. But this is 2020, and there’s nothing “usual” about any of it.
This is not a lecture about canceling your Thanksgiving plans and going virtual instead. Rather, this is a request to please celebrate safely.
The CDC has released its holiday gathering guidelines, and they’re much like you’d expect: If you can avoid getting together with people who live outside your household, please do so. If you’re going to gather anyway, here’s how to do it safely.
The main emphasis remains on wearing masks and maintaining at least six feet of distance between members of different households. What does this mean in a practical sense? If you are not actively eating or drinking, please keep your mask on (or face shield, or both). So if it’s cocktail hour and everyone is sitting around the living room (while socially distanced), put your mask back on between sips of your drink. When it comes to eating dinner, instead of everyone crowding around one big table, it will be better to set up smaller tables or eating areas where people from the same households can sit together while remaining six feet apart from others.
Serving the meal might be a challenge. The guidelines strongly discourage buffet or family-style serving, where every individual touches the same utensils to put food on the plates. We’re going to have to get fancy this year. Designate one person to serve a specific dish — or one person to serve the whole meal, but that doesn’t sound fair. For example, Uncle John will carve and serve the turkey, which means he will place the meat on each person’s plate. And then Aunt Mary will serve everyone their potatoes and cousin Bob will serve the green bean casserole, so on and so forth. This way, only one person touches each serving platter/bowl and related utensil.
Now, the CDC stipulates this type of serving should be done while maintaining a six foot distance from each other. If that isn’t feasible, perhaps compromise and keep your mask on until everything has been served and everyone is ready to eat.
Ventilation is also important for lowering the risk of COVID-19 spread during a holiday gathering. If it’s possible to hold the event outside, that remains the best option. An open-walled tent is great; if the walls need to be brought down to create a wind buffer, the CDC recommends rolling up the sidewalls about one foot from the ground so air can circulate. If your celebration is indoors, try to open as many windows and doors as possible to keep fresh air moving through the space. (Which means you might need to bring a sweater. Or coat. And a hat and gloves. It just kind of depends.) As a last resort, the CDC says you can place the central air and heating on continuous circulation. (Disclaimer: All of the above is still contingent on mask wearing, social distancing and hand-washing.)
The CDC guidelines continue with greater details and recommendations for virtually every “what if,” but what we’ve provided here in the highlight reel. For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html.
We hope you have a happy — and safe — Thanksgiving.
