SARASOTA-MANATEE (WSNN) – A big turkey dinner with all your loved ones around the table may not be possible this year. If you need inspiration for a Plan B, some Suncoast residents are sharing their plans for a pandemic friendly thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving gatherings, historically, include large gatherings around the dinner table, but enter COVID-19… and now you have a smaller more intimate occasion.
“This year, we are not traveling, we are not going anywhere for Thanksgiving,” Bradenton Resident, Robyn Faucy-Washington said. “We will be home with a very very small family gathering.”
Faucy-Washington usually has around 50 people over for turkey day, but she had COVID-19 and isn’t taking any chances this year.
To stay healthy, epidemiologist, Manuel Gordillo, MD, says first, you should assess the risk
“Is it worth doing it? Yes, we want to get together with our family; I have not seen my family in over 10 months,” Dr. Gordillo said. “But I really need to think, is it worth exposing them.”
COVID and large gatherings don’t mix well together. So instead of gathering lots of family and friends, Sarasota Resident, Kristen Hogentogler is just having a small get-together with her nuclear family.
“I don’t want to don’t do anything that’s going to compromise my family just for the holidays,” Hogentogler said. “My father is in a high-risk group and you don’t know what other people are doing and you can’t assume that other people are being cautious.”
When you do reunite with your loved ones, Dr. Gordillo says to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
“You have to talk to your group,” Dr. Gordillo said. “Are we going to be wearing masks, under what conditions? How are we going to be physically distancing? It might be better to have one person serving the food to everybody, rather than people serving themselves.”
And if you’ve already committed to a family gathering, but you start to feel sick, Dr. Gordillo says change your plans.
“Don’t feel like you’re obligated to go because you already told your grandparents that you’re coming to visit,” Dr. Gordillo said. “If you’re a little bit sick, and you don’t feel well, don’t go.”
Though it could potentially be one of the last holiday get-togethers with her elderly relatives, Faucy-Washington won’t risk it.
“I just would hate to see anyone become infected with COVID and then it is their last holiday because they became infected with COVID at a gathering,” Faucy-Washington said.
The typical CDC recommendations for COVID-19 mitigation still include: washing your hands, wearing masks, and wiping down surfaces. And if you’re planning to travel, Dr. Gordillo says you should consider state restrictions, as they may be different from Florida’s.