How to Navigate 2020 Pandemic Holiday

Pandemic Holiday Season 1.0

How in the world are we supposed to navigate this holiday season given, well... 2020?!?  Not only have we had an extremely contentious election year, continued racial injustices, and environmental disasters, but we've also had an upsurge of an infectious coronavirus that has put much the world in quarantine lock-downs.  How do we find & maintain hope in the midst of all this?

COVID-19 has brought out the best and worst in all of us.  While it's given us the opportunity to prioritize healthy and safety over freedoms, we also see how it's been used as a political weapon.  While many of us have dramatically altered our behaviors, there are others who have dug in their heals to deny or minimize its impact.  And there's been a plethora of judgements and projections in all directions.

Celebrating the Holidays Differently

In the United States, we're now being encouraged by the US Center for Disease Control & Prevention to stay home and only be with those that are in our households for Thanksgiving.  If we choose to celebrate with others outside of our households and travel to do so, they are a myriad of extra precautions we're being advised to take in order to minimize, not eliminate, the risk of infection.  These are literally life and death decisions this holiday season in 2020.  Risk factors are constantly changing depending on the area of the world we live in, current infection rates, hospitalizations and COVID death rates.

This is A LOT to navigate, especially when others we care about have different needs and levels of risk-aversiveness than us.

Reducing Risk without Eliminating Risk

Of course the only way to have zero risk of contracting/spreading COVID is staying home 100% of the time with others in our households who do the same.  However, there are other ways of reducing risks.

By now we all know the 3 main ways to reduce risk of COVID infection:

1. Masking:  wear a mask (with 2-3 layers) correctly
2. Physical Distancing: stay at least 6 feet away (about 2 arm lengths) from others not in our households
3. Hand hygiene: wash our hands for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when we don't have access to a faucet/soap

​There are additional ways that we can substantially reduce risk, especially in combination:

1. Quarantining for 10-14 days prior to and after seeing others we don't live with
2. Testing at least 3-5 days, sometimes longer, after potential exposures
3. Being outside, especially while wearing masks, physical distancing & having hand hygiene
4. Limiting our time with others
5. Limiting the amount of guests & households at one event
6. Cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces
7. Creating airflow, like fully opening doors & windows
8. Staggering bathroom use
9. Bringing our own utensils
10. Individualizing meals instead of using a buffet style or passing dishes

Happy Holidays!!!

I wish you all Happy Holidays, if you celebrate them.

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