October is finally here! And that means holidays are just around the corner. We’re still facing certain challenges due to the novel Coronavirus and, as human beings, naturally, we are social beings. Therefore, we need human contact in our daily lives. In order to accomplish a sense of normalcy back into our lives, there are certain steps we can take to achieve this.
Celebrating holidays through the use of Zoom meetings, FaceTime, and WhatsApp have given us the opportunity to stay connected to the ones we care about. These methods pose little to no risk of person-to-person spread of COVID-19. Still, before gathering with your loved ones, it’s a good idea to be sure you aren’t carrying any symptoms. Additionally, consider the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in your immediate and surrounding areas and make your ultimate decision based upon that. If your area has a considerable amount of confirmed cases, it may be wiser to keep things virtual for now. You may find current statistics in your area here:
https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html
- Furthermore, consider the areas in which your attendees have been traveling from. If people are traveling from multiple locations, it may pose a higher risk than if people were traveling from a single location.
- You should be aware of the behaviors of your attendees as well. Have they been practicing social distancing and wearing a mask prior to traveling? Maintaining proper hygiene is also essential i.e. washing your hands regularly.
- If you are planning to host a gathering, consider doing so outside. If this is not possible, do everything you can to make sure the area indoors is properly ventilated. If weather permits, consider opening windows to increase circulation of fresh air.
- Give your potential guests time to consider avoiding contact with people outside of their households for a minimum of 14 days before your event.
- During your gathering, still consider maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet between yourself and others.
- Wear a mask around people that do not live with you to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Keep all areas around food and drinks clean. At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that handling food contributes to the transmission of the virus. And although it’s always a good idea to keep surfaces disinfected, this is not considered one of the main ways in which the virus is transmitted. Maintaining proper hygiene is important and is something we should all strive for, regardless of having a social event or not.
- Everyone should be washing their hands regularly with hot water and soap for a minimum of 20 seconds. If it is not possible to wash your hands, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol should suffice.
- Consider wearing a mask when preparing food for yourself and others.
- If you’re serving any food, consider designating one person as distributer of food to avoid multiple hands touching utensils or food.
- Avoid any situation that would allow for self-serving of food or drink i.e. a punch bowl or a bowl filled with potato chips.
- If you are using any kind of reusable items, be sure to disinfect them first before using them again.
We hope that everyone continues to stay safe during these uncertain times.