Staying safe during the holidays

Being in a community together means we need to think about how our plans will affect each other. Let’s take a look at the public health guidelines for keeping each other healthy while we celebrate the holidays.

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01 SAFE CELEBRATIONS

Celebrating safely will help keep our community healthy.

Here’s what Bay Area Health Officers recommend for having a safe holiday celebration.

Bubble up

Stick close to home if possible and stay within your social bubble.

Clean hands

Sanitize or wash hands upon arrival and frequently throughout the gathering.

Mask up

Ensure that all guests wear masks when not eating.

Stay outdoors

Do activities outdoors and/or crack windows in your home if possible.

Keep it short

Shorter is safer. Limit gatherings to no more than 2 hours

Limit gatherings

Stable is better. Do not participate in multiple gatherings with many different households.

Small gatherings

Limit gatherings to 3 households or less.

Plan ahead

Plan some fun and safe outdoor activities with your bubble group on Black Friday.

Avoid travel

Non-essential holiday travel outside the Bay Area is not recommended.

02 TRAVEL AND VISITING FAMILY

What to do if you need to travel

If you’re unable to avoid traveling, here are 3 tips to help you protect yourself and your community.

Quarantine 7 days

Upon your return, stay out of in-person fellowship for 7 days after your last possible exposure.

Get tested

Get a free Covid test after 7 days. As soon as you have a negative test result you can begin seeing people in person.

Stay masked

You and your roommates should mask at home until you get a negative test result.

How to politely decline Thanksgiving dinner in the name of Covid.

Here are some tips from a recent CNN article about how to talk to family about your holiday plans.

It’s ok to say no

It’s perfectly all right for you to say, ‘I prefer not to get together with everyone,’ or ‘I’m sorry but we’re not going to be able to attend this year.’

Consider others

Expressing that you don’t want to spread the virus or put others at risk is another helpful way to politely decline a Thanksgiving invitation.

Don’t be afraid

It’s incredibly uncomfortable to say, “No, thank you” to people with whom you generally have a history of agreeing. However, when it comes to your own health, you must speak your mind.

Don’t feel guilty

Don’t feel guilty. Usually, guilt is what you feel when you’ve done something you probably shouldn’t have done. In this case, there’s nothing wrong about declining the invite, so there shouldn’t be guilt.