The COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful and isolating for many people. Gatherings during the upcoming holidays can be an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. This holiday season, consider how your holiday plans can be modified to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to keep your friends, families, and communities healthy and safe.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers the following considerations to slow the spread of COVID-19 during small gatherings.
Considerations for Small Gatherings of Family and Friends
Celebrating virtually or with members of your own household poses the lowest risk for spread. Your household is anyone who currently lives and shares common spaces in your housing unit. People who do not currently live in your housing unit, such as college students returning home from school, should be considered part of different households.
Several factors can contribute to the risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 at small in-person gatherings. In combination, these factors will create various amounts of risk:
- Community levels of COVID-19 — Family and friends should consider the number of COVID-19 cases in their community and in the community where they plan to celebrate when deciding whether to host or attend a gathering.
- Exposure during travel – Airports, bus stations, train stations, public transport, gas stations, and rest stops can expose travelers to the virus.
- Location of the gathering – Indoor gatherings, especially those with poor ventilation, pose more risk than outdoor gatherings.
- Duration of the gathering – Being within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more greatly increases the risk of becoming sick.
- Number and crowding of people at the gathering – Gatherings with more people pose more risk than gatherings with fewer people. The size of a holiday gathering should be determined based on the ability of attendees from different households to stay 6 feet apart, wear masks, wash hands, and follow health and safety regulations.
- Behaviors of attendees prior to the gathering – Individuals who did not consistently adhere to prevention behaviors pose more risk.
- Behaviors of attendees during the gathering – Gatherings with more safety measures in place pose less risk. Use of alcohol or drugs may alter judgment and make it more difficult to practice COVID-19 safety measures.
The following people should not attend in-person holiday gatherings:
- Individuals with or exposed to COVID-19 in the last 14 days
- Individuals experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
- Individuals waiting for COVID-19 test results
- Individuals at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 — an older adult or person with certain medical conditions
Considerations for Attending or Hosting a Small Gathering
Below are general considerations for hosting a gathering that brings together people from different households. Guests should be aware of these considerations and ask their host what mitigation measures will be in place during the gathering. Hosts should consider the following:
- Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors to the extent that is safe and feasible based on the weather — or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation.
- If setting up outdoor seating under a pop-up open air tent, ensure guests are still seated with physical distancing in mind. Enclosed, 4-wall tents will have less air circulation than open air tents. If outdoor temperature or weather forces you to put up the tent sidewalls, consider leaving one or more sides open or rolling up the bottom 12 inches of each sidewall to enhance ventilation while still providing a wind break.
- Require guests to wear masks. At gatherings that include persons of different households, everyone should always wear a mask that covers both the mouth and nose, except when eating or drinking.
- Encourage guests to avoid singing or shouting, especially indoors. Keep music levels down so people don’t have to shout or speak loudly to be heard.
- Encourage attendees to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
- Provide guests information about any COVID-19 safety guidelines and steps that will be in place at the gathering to prevent the spread of the virus.
- Provide and/or encourage attendees to bring supplies to help everyone to stay healthy. These include extra masks (do not share with others), hand sanitizer, and tissues. Stock bathrooms with enough hand soap and single use towels.
- Limit contact with commonly touched surfaces or shared items, such as serving utensils.
- Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and any shared items between use when feasible.
- Use touchless garbage cans if available. Use gloves when removing garbage bags or handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands after removing gloves.
- Plan ahead and ask guests to avoid contact with people outside of their households for 14 days before the gathering.
- Treat pets as you would other human family members – do not let pets interact with people outside the household.
Food and drinks at small holiday gatherings
Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that handling food or eating is associated with directly spreading COVID-19. It is possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object, including food, food packaging, or utensils that have the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. However, this is not thought to be the main way that the virus is spread. Remember, it is always important to follow food safety practices to reduce the risk of illness from common food-borne germs.
- Encourage guests to bring food and drinks for themselves and for members of their own household only; avoid potluck-style gatherings.
- Wear a mask while preparing or serving food to others who don’t live in your household.
- All attendees should have a plan for where to store their mask while eating and drinking. Keep it in a dry, breathable bag (like a paper or mesh fabric bag) to keep it clean between uses.
- Limit people going in and out of the areas where food is being prepared or handled, if possible.
- Have one person serve all the food to prevent multiple people handling utensils.
- Use single-use options or identify one person to serve sharable items, like salad dressings, food containers, plates and utensils, and condiments.
- Designate a space for guests to wash hands after handling or eating food.
- Limit crowding in areas where food is served by having one person dispense food individually to plates. Avoid crowded buffet and drink stations.
- Change and launder linen items immediately following the event.
- Wash dishes in the dishwasher or with hot soapy water immediately following the gathering.
Travel and Overnight Stays
Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year.
If you are considering traveling, here are some important questions to ask yourself and your loved ones beforehand. These questions can help you decide what is best for you and your family.
- Are you, someone in your household, or someone you will be visiting immunocompromised?
- Are cases high or increasing in your community or your destination?
- Are hospitals in your community/destination overwhelmed with patients who have COVID-19?
- Does your home or destination have requirements or restrictions for travelers?
- During the 14 days before your travel, have you or those you are visiting had close contact with people they don’t live with?
- Do your plans include transportation which might make staying 6 feet apart difficult?
- Are you traveling with people who don’t live with you?
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” you should consider making other plans, such as hosting a virtual gathering or delaying your travel. The safest thing to do is to stay home, but if you do decide to travel, testing can help you do so more safely. Testing does not eliminate all risk, but it can help make travel safer.
If you decide to travel, follow these safety measures during your trip to protect yourself and others from COVID-19:
- Wear a mask in public and anywhere you will be around people outside of your household.
- Avoid close contact by staying 6 feet apart from anyone who is not from your household.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer.
- Avoid contact with anyone who is sick.
- Avoid touching your face mask, eyes, nose, and mouth.
Considerations for staying overnight or hosting overnight guests
Consider whether you, someone you live with, or anyone you plan to visit with is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 to determine whether to stay overnight in the same residence. College students who travel to visit family should be thought of as overnight guests. They and their hosts, which might include their own parents, should follow all overnight guest precautions for the duration of the visit. For longer visits, after 14 days of following guest precautions, the student, if without symptoms or recent contacts with anyone with COVID-19, can be considered a household member.
Consider and prepare for what you will do if you, or someone else, becomes sick during the visit. What are the plans for isolation, medical care, basic care, and travel home?
Visitors should launder clothing and masks and stow luggage away from common areas upon arrival.
Get your flu vaccine
Gatherings can contribute to the spread of other infectious diseases. Getting a flu vaccine is an essential part of protecting your health and your family’s health this season. Flu vaccines are useful any time during the flu season and can often be accessed into January or later.
Steps to take if exposed to COVID-19 during a holiday gathering
If you are exposed to COVID-19 at a holiday gathering, while traveling, or at any time, protect others by doing the following:
If you develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 within 14 days of the event or if you test positive for COVID-19, immediately notify the host and others who attended.
If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, a public health worker may contact you to check on your health and ask you who you have been in contact with and where you’ve spent time in order to identify and provide support to people (contacts) who may have been infected. Your information will be confidential. Learn more about what to expect with contact tracing.
