The holidays are upon us, and many Horned Frogs are looking forward to a mix of decompressing, feasting and celebrating with family and friends.
“After such a crazy year when many people have felt constantly isolated, the holidays feel like the perfect time to reconnect — but we still have to remember we are in the midst of a pandemic,” said Sean Taylor, director of emergency management at TCU. “I hope that everyone will get tested before holiday gatherings, but I also want to caution folks that a negative test is not a free pass to forgo precautions. Even if you tested negative for COVID-19 before you left campus, you shouldn’t let your guard down. We owe it to our loved ones to continue following safety protocols to protect our families and communities.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer numerous tips to keep your holiday celebrations safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are hosting an event, let your guests know beforehand what COVID-19 safety guidelines will be in place so that everyone is on the same page.
Here are Taylor’s top five safety tips for holiday celebrations:
- Celebrate outdoors.
Host your activities — including eating — outside, if possible. For indoor events, limit guests and increase ventilation by opening windows or doors or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation. Indoors or outdoors, if your gathering includes guests from different households, require them to wear masks covering both mouth and nose, except when they are eating or drinking. Also provide a plan for where guests can store their masks while eating, such as individual paper bags, and have plenty of extra masks on hand.
- Continue social distancing.
Limit your guest list so there is plenty of room to maintain social distancing protocols, and arrange tables and chairs to reflect 6-foot protocols. People from the same household can be in groups together, but they still need to be at least 6 feet away from other families. Instead of hugs and handshakes, just wave, offer a verbal greeting and throw the Horned Frogs hand sign. Also discourage singing and shouting, especially indoors — keeping music levels down will help guests hear each other without having to raise their voices. And don’t let your pets interact with people outside your own household.
- Limit people handling food.
Skip the potluck this year and encourage guests to bring their own food and drinks. If you plan to serve food, use single-use options or choose one person to serve all the food so multiple people are not handling serving utensils. Make sure those preparing or serving food wear a mask. Provide a place for guests to wash their hands when entering and exiting your gathering. (Wash hands for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.) Wash dishes and launder any linen items immediately after the gathering.
- Avoid high-touch items.
Go with single-use paper towels over hand towels, and provide touchless garbage cans. Wear gloves when collecting or emptying the trash, and wash your hands after you take the gloves off. Also consider providing cleaning supplies that allow guests to wipe down surfaces before they leave.
- Stay home if you’re sick (and remind guests to do the same).
Throughout the holidays, continue to self-monitor and stay home if you have fever or any COVID-related symptoms or just feel off. Remind your guests to stay home if they have been exposed to COVID-19 in the last 14 days or are showing COVID-19 symptoms. Anyone who lives with someone at a higher risk should consider the potential danger to their loved ones. Also, the CDC recommends keeping a list of attendees for potential future contact tracing needs.
BONUS: If you are using a tent, remember that open air tents have more air circulation than enclosed four-wall tents. If weather requires the tent sidewalls, consider leaving one or more sides open or rolling up the bottom of each sidewall about a foot to enhance ventilation.
CDC tips for food safety practices
CDC tips for increasing ventilation and disinfecting your home