Gathering for holidays during COVID-19? Remember these safety tips from Georgia expert

The holidays are here and there’s no end in sight for COVID-19.

In a typical year, Georgia residents would be making holiday plans that include family members from far and wide. But COVID-19 doesn’t take a timeout for holidays, family traditions, or Grandma’s famous mashed potatoes.

On Thursday, the Center for Disease Control urged Americans not to travel for the holidays, citing an exponential growth in cases of COVID-19.

Dr. Henry Wu, director of Emory TravelWell Center and associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, told the Ledger-Enquirer that avoiding gatherings with those outside of your household is the best option during the holiday season.

It’s also important to stay vigilant with mask-wearing, social distancing, handwashing and other routine safety items.

“People are getting a little fatigued with this pandemic, and are looking forward to relaxing a bit doing things that they haven’t done in a while,” Wu said. “I know it’s challenging. So I really encourage folks to keep up their efforts. Because we really do feel that the holidays may be a period where we see a surge of infections beyond what we’re seeing right now.”

“I think the dichotomy of total shutdown versus no restrictions at all is a very false one,” he added. “I think we can connect and do things as long as we learn to do things a little differently.”

If you still plan on gathering with friends and family this year, here are some tips to make sure the only thing you’re catching is the holiday spirit:

Who should stay home?

Those who feel unwell or show any symptoms of the virus should continue to stay home. Even if a coronavirus test produces a negative result, the illness may not be developed enough yet for a test to detect it.

If you are elderly, have a high-risk medical condition, or are pregnant, stay home from social gatherings this holiday season.

Healthier people who are engaging in high-risk activities should skip visiting elderly or at-risk family members this year. For example, a college student who attends parties on a regular basis should not visit a grandparent.

“Remember that making decisions to keep each other safe can be one of the most selfless gifts we give,” Wu says. “To protect my elderly and frail parents, I’m actually choosing to stay home this holiday and connect with them virtually.”

Keep gatherings small, and local

Gathering multiple households together can be risky. This means celebrations should be limited to your household — people that you live or share a common living area with.

For college students or young people, this might be a holiday meal with roommates. For families, celebrate with just your immediate household instead of including extended family members.

If you decide to invite outside guests, try to limit it to people in your community. Travel is a major factor in starting outbreaks in local areas, Wu says. Keeping gatherings local can prevent spreading the virus among different communities and cuts out the risks of traveling.

“The good news is we’re learning much about how to protect ourselves while we travel,” Wu said. “However, the risk still cannot be totally mitigated. Therefore, I think the threshold to make a trip still should be higher than during normal times.”

Wear masks and stay outdoors

Mask wearing and staying outdoors help make gatherings safer. Wear masks as much as possible during any social gathering. If you’ll need to remove masks to eat and drink, consider holding at least the meal part of the gathering outdoors.

“(Wearing a mask) is one of the easiest, simplest things we can all do to make our activities safer and get things back to normal,” Wu said.

Open-air environments help reduce the risk of transmission. If you have to be indoors, create as much ventilation and airflow as possible by opening windows and using fans.

Get tested, but know it isn’t a silver bullet

Should you get tested before traveling for the holidays? It can help, Wu says, but it’s not a silver bullet. Getting tested can help catch some asymptomatic or presymptomatic cases before spread occurs. But testing isn’t foolproof.

A negative result from a rapid test should always be confirmed with a PCR/viral test. Rapid tests are not as sensitive and can miss cases that are milder or in their early stages. You can schedule a PCR test at Muscogee County Health Department.

Tests also don’t rule out the chance that you can become infected after you get tested, such as while traveling.

Getting tested after a gathering is also a good idea, especially if you think you’ve been exposed.

Quarantine before and after gatherings

The best way to make sure you don’t have COVID-19 before a gathering is to avoid situations where you could catch the virus. Wu recommends avoiding all social gatherings and crowds for two weeks prior to travel or a holiday gathering.

“It is important to keep in mind that preventing illness in yourself and your family before your trip can be very important because this reduces the chance that during your gatherings, an infection is transmitted,” Wu said.

You should also quarantine after your holiday event, Wu says. If you’ve been unknowingly infected, you could infect others in your community by going out.

Safety while traveling

If you’re traveling out-of-state for the holidays, there are some precautions you can take to stay safer.

• Wear a mask and have hand sanitizer handy and use it after making stops on the road.
• Wipe down high-touch surfaces in your vehicle.
• Bring your own food and water to limit the number of stops you make.
• Limit the passengers of your car to just your immediate household.
• Wear a mask on planes, in airports, and any other time you are in contact with people outside your household.
• Request a hotel room that has been vacant for a longer period of time.

Air travel is relatively safe, Wu says. Modern air filtration and exchange systems inside airplanes are fairly effective at protecting passengers from coronavirus.

A study from the Department of Defense found that transmission of the virus in airplane cabins was reduced by 99.7% thanks to various ventilation systems, USA Today reports. However, if you’re seated right next to someone who is infected, your risk is still high, especially if that person isn’t wearing a mask.

“If you again travel by air, keep also in mind that it’s not just the flight itself, but it’s every step of the trip that can introduce some risk, whether it’s transiting to the airport, the security check-ins and layovers,” Wu said. “So really do not let your guard down.”