Gathering for December Holidays? Follow This Checklist.
It’s better not to gather, but here’s how to lower the risk if you do
As we head into peak holiday season, the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 has just surpassed 300,000 deaths. The nation is now averaging a daily death toll equivalent to the 9/11 terrorist attacks — every day — with no signs of slowing down. It’s no surprise, then, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that the “safest way to celebrate winter holidays is to celebrate at home with the people who live with you.” They even provide some great ideas on the safest way to celebrate apart from one another.
As we saw with Thanksgiving, however, millions of people will still choose to travel and gather with family for Christmas and other holiday celebrations. It’s understandable: Much of the nation has quarantine fatigue, and as Melinda Wenner Moyer previously reported for Elemental, “social distancing guidelines go against our deepest instincts and cultural norms.”
For people to travel or gather and risk catching or transmitting Covid-19 to others puts the nation’s already very limited ICU beds at a higher risk of filling up, especially if the get-togethers include older adults or other people at high risk for Covid-19 complications. But asking people to stay home for…
