On behalf of the entire Allegiant Experts team, we would like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! Of course, this year’s Thanksgiving celebrations are bound to be a lot different than the ones we’ve been used to in past years. The coronavirus pandemic continues to be a health risk. As a result, large gatherings are strongly cautioned against.
The CDC recommends against traveling for Thanksgiving.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation against traveling or gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday. As Brittany Shammas reports for The Washington Post, the CDC is urging Americans to consider celebrating in their own households instead.
“In the agency’s first news briefing in months, officials said they were alarmed to see 1 million new cases reported across the United States within the past week,” she reveals, “As the nation’s death toll since the start of the pandemic reached 250,000, officials spoke of the risks in stark terms, warning that as friends and relatives get together over the holidays, they could inadvertently bring the coronavirus with them. Tragedy could follow, they said.”
Health officials request that Americans cancel their large holiday parties.
Simply put, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving, this year, is to do so with the members of your household. All Americans are being asked to not travel to visit family, and instead have their celebrations at home. Thankfully, it appears as if many Floridian residents have already planned to do just that.
As reported by Jordan Laird of Dayton Daily News this week, many Miami Valley residents are planning to keep their Thanksgiving gatherings small this year. Of course, not everyone seems to be willing to follow this COVID-19 safety request. Laird notes that a recent survey conducted by the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal News found that 68% of area residents are greatly concerned by recent COVID-19 case trends.
Although it is more than half, only 57% of the survey’s respondents say they will be spending Thanksgiving only with people who live with them. “About 15% of the 350 survey respondents said they will spend the holiday with more than 10 people and nearly a quarter said they’ve made no changes to their plans,” reveals Laird.
A spike in COVID-19 cases is imminent if large gatherings take place.
Staying at home with live-in family members to celebrate Thanksgiving is simply the right thing to do. At least, this is what many respondents to the survey have said, according to Laird. He points out that there are many different ways to celebrate the holiday safely. Emily Tate of Vandalia, for example, is spending Thanksgiving this year with just her fiance who lives with her.
“I feel like seeing (family) in person is almost selfish in a way,” she is quoted as saying in the article, “Because then what if we get sick? What if we spread it to somebody else on accident? I’ve got plenty of years to see them as long as we all stay safe and healthy.”
Laird goes on to point out that many other people are also finding safe ways to celebrate Thanksgiving. 35% of the survey’s respondents have canceled a party, 26% have declined an invitation, 19% plan to use a virtual video conference tool such as Zoom to see family remotely and 12% plan to social distance or wear face coverings at a gathering.
No matter how you choose to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, the Allegiant Experts team sincerely hopes it is a fun and safe one!
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