How to Stay Safe, But Happy, Over the Holidays this Year.
It’s the holiday season! December is a holly, jolly time of the year, often spent eating good food, listening to holiday music and celebrating with loved ones.
But this year looks a little different. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, and the well-known adage “there’s no place like home for the holidays” doesn’t feel quite the same. Whether you plan on being with your loved ones or not, it’s possible to celebrate and enjoy the holiday cheer while staying safe!
Celebrating the holidays either with family and friends virtually or with members of your same household poses the lowest amount of risk when it comes to gatherings. In-person gatherings that bring together family members or friends from different households, including college students returning home, pose varying levels of risk.
The larger the event, or group of people, the higher the risk of spreading COVID-19. So, how do you safely prevent spreading COVID-19 while still enjoying the holidays? Review Nevada’s guidelines, as well as the CDC’s COVID-19 Holiday Celebrations and Small Gatherings guidelines.
Here are some ways to help you enjoy the holidays safely this year:
- Limit the number of attendees from different households. Make sure that proper measures are followed, no matter the size of the gathering. These measures always include frequently washing your hands, wearing a mask/face covering, physical distancing and staying home if you feel unwell.
- Properly sanitize any household surfaces that will be/have been touched by multiple people – attendees should keep shared contact minimal.
- If the gathering will be held indoors, increase ventilation, including opening doors or windows. But only if the weather permits! Don’t let any unbearable drafts into your home if the weather is too frigid.
- Keep the noise level down – it’s notoriously more difficult to hear/understand someone when they have a mask on. Help your attendees out a little by making it easier to leave their masks on.
- Encourage guests to bring their own food for their households to limit shared contact of utensils. Or, have one masked individual serve the food so that multiple people aren’t handling serving utensils.
- Ask guests to avoid contact with others outside of their own households for 14 days before the gathering. This will best ensure that no one has recently been exposed to COVID-19 prior.
Give yourself and your family the added protection of health coverage this year. Open Enrollment runs until January 15th, and Nevada Health Link offers affordable Qualified Health Plans, which can help alleviate some of the stress concerning your health during this pandemic.
Call today to find a licensed enrollment professional and speak with an expert to review your health insurance options for the upcoming year. Find a Certified Agent/Broker or Navigator near you and get FREE enrollment assistance today.
