SAN ANTONIO — With the holidays quickly approaching experts say families getting together to celebrate will undeniably accelerate the spread of the coronavirus. If you plan to join family for Thanksgiving today is the day you need to start to quarantine.
14 days. We've heard that number a lot this year, because that is the number of days you need to isolate yourself from others to insure you don't have coronavirus, something your family would not want to feast on this Thanksgiving. Dr. Katherine Whiteley, a family practice physician for University Health added, "The virus takes time to build up in our body and to reach certain levels to where we actually have symptoms, so we may not have symptoms for three, four, or five days, sometimes even up to a week."
That's why it is so important to quarantine for the full 14 days, but don't let your guard down on Thanksgiving Day itself too. Dr. Whiteley said, "It's very important to stay away from each other as much as possible and try not to incorporate new people into our family unit during Thanksgiving holiday to prevent transmission of the virus."
According to a new national survey by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, nearly 40% of Americans will likely attend a gathering with 10 people, and a third of them reportedly will not ask guests to wear masks. Dr. Whiteley said, "I would say this will be the same 10 people that we have been around during this whole COVID time. Incorporating nine other new people into our group brings in all other germs that these other nine people have been around."
If at all possible Dr. Whiteley says have Thanksgiving outside. And remember just because you don't feel sick, it doesn't mean you can't infect others. Dr. Whiteley added, "We need to protect our kids and we need to protect our elders and even though a lot of us can be asymptomatic with COVID that doesn't mean that our grandmother or grandfather won't get the virus from us."
Dr. Whiteley also says make sure to have sanitizer all throughout your home on Thanksgiving, and don't even think about sharing drinks.