AUSTIN, Texas — This holiday will be like no other due to the coronavirus, and if you're still planning on gathering, there are some guidelines health authorities say you should follow.
The Austin area began to see a spike in cases after the Thanksgiving holiday, and the city's health authority, Dr. Mark Escott, said there are concerns as the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach.
The “ongoing aggressive surge increases” may place the sustainability of operations at our hospitals at risk, Dr. Escott said.
Escott said he recommends residents to not travel and stay home for Christmas. If you do travel, Escott suggests traveling by car. He told residents that if you're traveling by plane, you should double mask and be cautious of what you're touching in an airplane or at the airport.
RELATED: Health officials warn Austin 'moving in the wrong direction' as holidays fuel COVID-19 case surge
Here are some guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) if you're hosting or attending a small gathering:
- Check the COVID-19 infection rates in areas where attendees live on state, local, territorial, or tribal health department websites or on CDC’s COVID Data Tracker County View. Based on the current status of the pandemic, consider if it is safe to hold or attend the gathering on the proposed date.
- Limit the number of attendees as much as possible to allow people from different households to remain at least 6 feet apart at all times. Guests should avoid direct contact, including handshakes and hugs, with others not from their household.
- Host outdoor rather than indoor gatherings as much as possible. Even outdoors, require guests to wear masks when not eating or drinking.
- Avoid holding gatherings in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces with persons who are not in your household.
- 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.
- For additional information on increasing ventilation, visit CDC’s information on Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Home.
- Winter weather can be cold, wet, and unpredictable. Inclement weather makes it difficult to increase ventilation by opening windows or to hold an event outdoors.
- If setting up outdoor seating under a pop-up open-air tent, ensure guests are still seated with physical distancing in mind. Enclosed four-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 windbreak.
- 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. It is also important to stay at least 6 feet away from people who are not in your household at all times.
- 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 encourage attendees to bring supplies to help everyone to stay healthy. These include extra masks (do not share or swap with others), hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol 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 EPA-approved disinfectants.
- 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.
"The more of these prevention measures that you put in place, the safer your gathering will be. No one measure is enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19," the CDC website states.
For more information on how you can keep your gatherings as safe as possible, click here.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: