With the holiday season fast approaching, I wanted to share recommendations on what is considered safe or risky during the pandemic from Dr. Bita Nasseri, a leading Mayo Clinic trained physician who has been practicing for over twenty years in Los Angeles and a mother of three.
HALLOWEEN
- Keeping children and chaperones six feet apart is very difficult during trick-or-treating through the neighborhoods. The concept of keeping your crowd in a bubble or a pod is completely jeopardized by exposure to larger groups from your neighborhood.
- Ideally you don’t want person to person handling of Halloween candies. Even if there is a way of automatically dispensing candies or using a candy machine, there is always a risk of exposure to candy wraps that can host unwanted germs for up to 72 hours. If you are celebrating Halloween with your pod, assign a parent to hand out candies and traffic control using gloves.
- October is well into the fall cold and flu season. Not only do we not want the spread of Covid, we also don’t want the spread of the flu and cross reactivity of signs and symptoms.
- Let’s keep it simple and clean this year. Protect yourself and your family and therefore protect others. Make it fun and build candy trick or treating stations throughout your home. Express your love of the holiday by recreating the experience of trick-or-treating within your close circle.
THANKSGIVING
- If you can, hosting an event outside with a covered patio or heaters is best, but if it must be indoors, choose the largest room in the house or the family room. Also, try to limit the social time indoors vs outside on the patio, lawn, etc.
- To minimize airborne (breath) exposure, put one or two air filters in the room or have the windows open.
- Arrange seats allowing for 2-3 feet at minimum between guests. Place children further away from your beloved elders. You can also arrange multiple tables so elders can be separated and distanced from larger groups and crowds.
- A simple solution to minimize food exposure is to have one person serving and handling the food and desserts.
- Have people privately do a Covid symptom checklist to make sure that they don’t have fever, cough, chills, body aches, pink eye, upset stomach, recent change in taste or smell, or a newly runny nose. Given the opportunity, most loved ones will make the wise decision not to expose their family and friends if they have a moment to review the checklist prior to coming to the dinner.
- Another thought is to have guests wear face masks for greeting, boisterous conversation, and for toasts, as that amplifies the aerosols from our lungs, and to remove face masks only while eating.
Even during the holidays, its very important to make sure you are protected all all times. I personally never leave my home without my mask, and a couple of back-up masks just in case. I also have several hand sanitizers in my car and on my purse, as well as plastic gloves.
If you are looking for a great source of personal protection equipment (otherwise known as PPE), check out the company Go Care.
Go Care offers PPE to-go kits for consumers, workers, at-risk individuals and generally anyone who wants protection while remaining active in their daily lives.
For more information, visit GetGoCare.com.
Go Care would like to give a lucky reader a special Get Go Care PPE prize package.
This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end on October 10, 2020. The winner will be chosen from all eligible entries using a random number generator. The winner will be contacted via email and will have three days to reply, or a new winner will be chosen in their place.
To enter, please comment on this post and tell me who you would give this prize package to, and why? It’s OK if you want to say “yourself,” as long as you can tell me why.
Kimberly
I would like it for myself. I am a senior who had open heart surgery two years ago. My son’s girlfriend has a heart anomaly as does her 7 y/o son, He had open heart surgery at 2 days old. I really don’t want to be taken out by a virus. I want to live into my 90’s. lkish77123 at gmail dot com
I would keep the kit for myself. We are full-time RVers, and contantly meeting new people in new places. The kit would prove useful to us in many ways to help insure our medical safety.
I would give this kit to my parents because I want them to stay safe.
I would keep it for myself because I have several factors for high risk. My partner is also an essential worker and I want to keep him safe too.
I would give the kit to my daughter and her family and hope they then would/could come for Thanksgiving. We miss the adult children and the Grand!
Moolissa (aka Melissa😏🐄)
I would like it for myself, as I have several risk factors. I would like to feel safe going to the grocery store.
I would definitely give it to my husband. He is at the greatest risk to become sick. In fact, right now he’s battling a cold. He was tested for covid19 on Wednesday and luckily he was negative. I worry a lot about his health.
I’m taking care of my nephews this Halloween for the first time and this is exactly what I needed. Thank you so so much!!
It is definitely a hard time for holidays this year! These tips are all very helpful and will help keep everyone safe during halloween and thanksgiving. I will be sure to share this tips with people I know! Thanks!
This Halloween Kit is perfect for social distanced Halloween! Thanks for the tip!