With Thanksgiving on Thursday and the number of COVID-19 cases on the rise, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is asking Americans not to travel for the holiday.
The CDC issued recommendations that encourage Americans to spend Thanksgiving with their household and avoid family gatherings.
The CDC’s Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz cited more than 1 million new cases in the U.S. over the past week as the reason for the new guidance.
“The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household,” she said.
The updated CDC guidance released Thursday also clarifies the definition of “household” to mean people who have been living in the same home for at least 14 days before celebrations. The update was particularly aimed at college students who typically return home from campus for the holidays but risk bringing an infection with them this year.
Whether Americans heed the warning is another matter. The deadly comeback by the virus has been blamed in part on pandemic fatigue, or people getting tired of masks and other precautions. And surges were seen last summer after Memorial Day and July Fourth, despite blunt warnings from health authorities.
In an acknowledgment that many people will likely ignore the CDC’s no-travel advisory, the agency recommended that people who do so anyway take several precautions, including wearing masks, staying six feet away from people outside your household and holding small gatherings outside.
The agency also recommends travelers consider whether someone they may see during their visit is at risk for severe illness, whether community spread is high where you live, or at your destination, if there are local quarantine requirements, and if travel plans require bus, train or air, and if so, what social distancing measures will be implemented.
“Gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the flu,” the guidelines state.
If non-household members of the family are planning to attend a Thanksgiving gathering, the CDC recommends that those attending wear masks, social distance, wash hands often, bring their own food, drinks, plates and utensils, avoiding going in and out of areas where food is being prepared or handled and to opt for single-use products like salad dressings and condiment packets.
For overnight guests, the CDC recommends assessing for risk for infection, wearing masks while inside the house, improving ventilation, avoiding singing or shouting indoors, avoiding interactions with household pets, monitoring guests for symptoms, and spending time outdoors.
More than 1 million COVID-19 cases were reported in the U.S. over the past seven days, the highest numbers recorded throughout the pandemic with no end in sight.
On Thursday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson urged Missourians to take responsibility to curtail the spread of the virus.
“It’s up to me and you to change the way we choose to do Thanksgiving,” Parson said. “You know what’s at risk, who’s at risk and what’s important.
“This virus is everywhere. It’s in our communities, it’s in our families, it’s in our businesses.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this story.