Rethinking plans for Thanksgiving celebrations? You’re not alone.
The recent spike of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has likely had many rethinking their holiday plans.
According to poll results published by Axios-Ipsos on Tuesday (November 24), 61% of Americans have changed their plans for celebrating the holiday – many are opting to celebrating it with just immediate members of the household.
The poll, which was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 1,002 US adults between November 20 and 23, also showed that 64% deemed that getting together with friends and family was a large to moderate risk for exposure to coronavirus, while 76% are wary of travelling for the holiday.
On Monday (November 23), the U.S. reached a record high of coronavirus-related hospitalizations – more than 85,000 patients nationwide. At the time of this writing, John Hopkins University data shows a total of 12.4 Million coronavirus cases have been reported in the U.S., which has resulted in more than 258,000 deaths.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has expressed concern that numbers may continue to rise with the “sequential holiday seasons” – i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve.
“Two to three thousand deaths a day times a couple of months, and you’re approaching a really stunning number of deaths,” he told Yahoo News in an interview.
But Thanksgiving doesn’t totally have to be a bust. Here are some ideas on how to celebrate a quarantine-friendly Thanksgiving:
Virtual Thanksgiving – Set a cam up by the dinner table and keep the conversation flowing from across homes.
Drive-Thru Thanksgiving – have friends and family nearby pick up a special homecooked Thanksgiving treats to enjoy in the comforts of their homes. Make it contactless – leave them at the door or a table on the lawn to be picked up.
Thanksgiving Care Packages – send love across the miles by making them a care package filled with all the things that make Thanksgiving special in your home.
Turkey Run – enjoy outdoor activities as well as yummy eats, Pack up a picnic and hit up a trail for a hike or a run. Don’t forget to mask up, bring sanitizers and practice social distancing.
The Center For Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines on how to have a safer celebration for the holidays. Read the CDC’s Holiday Guidelines here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html
