Holiday parties with household members only, CDC recommends
The CDC is recommending people keep their holiday party guest list limited to those who already live in the same household. For those families scattered all over, the CDC suggests considering celebrating the holidays virtually this year to avoid traveling.
Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough posted a video on Facebook Tuesday, asking families to not cancel their holiday plans, but rather, to celebrate safely.
"The Coronavirus is with us and it’s going to be with us for a while. You don’t have to cancel everything. You need to be with your family. Just exercise the right precautions. Won’t you do that?" Keough said.
For those planning on hosting group gatherings, the CDC asks that gatherings be kept small and medical experts encourage hosting it outdoors.
"Outdoor gatherings, you're safer. I think if you can do smaller, indoor gatherings you're safer... and those would be six feet apart, wearing a mask, and just being creative about how you do things. Increasing your ventilation, maybe leaving your doors open," said Dr. Mary Suzanne Whitworth, Cook Children's Hospital Medical Director of Infectious Diseases.
The seating chart could also play a factor. A study from Japanese researchers suggests you are more likely to contract the virus from the person sitting next to you, not across the table.
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Smaller gatherings, also call for smaller turkeys. Turkey sellers across the country say the pandemic is impacting sales, with the demand for big turkeys lower than usual.
"We used to sell - a big part of our turkeys was 16, 17, 18-pound hens. This year we are practically out of 10-pound ones, right now. Smaller stores seem to be wanting about as many turkeys, but smaller," said Don Peterson, a turkey farmer.
Experts also suggest doing Black Friday shopping online this year and to tune in to Thanksgiving sports games and parades from home.