Thanksgiving Should Be Done Outside This Year, According to CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, suggested that Americans who will be hosting Thanksgiving dinners this year have their meals set up outside to help stop the coronavirus spread and leave room for social distancing.

Thanksgiving in 2020

The public health agency gave several other suggestions about celebrating Thanksgiving safely in updated guidance about the upcoming holiday.

In addition to an outdoor setup and meal, the CDC said hosts should limit the number of guests they invite. Talk to the guests about how they plan to celebrate before they arrive and make sure that their number is limited, especially in the food preparation areas.

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The guidelines state that if sharing food, have one person serve the food and use single-used options, like plastic utensils. The guidance also suggests other recommendations that can help stop the virus's spread, such as wearing a mask and checking the travel restrictions if you plan to travel over the holiday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious diseases expert in the U.S., said on MSNBC that Americans would need to make a risk assessment when celebrating Thanksgiving this year.

Each household needs to make a decision if they want to put someone at an increased risk by having people coming in from different states without knowing if they are infected or without them being tested or quarantined.

Coronavirus cases in the U.S

On November 11, the new COVID-19 daily cases in the United States has hit another record high, with 140 543 reported and more expected the next few days.

November 11 was also the ninth straight day of new cases topping more than 100,000. The second-highest number of recorded cases was 136, 325, and it was reported on November 10.

The White House Task Force has alerted states of accelerating coronavirus spread and had recommended increasing the testing in its weekly report to states.

Reports dated November 8 and distributed to states showed a continued and accelerating community spread across the top half of the country, where temperatures have cooled, and Americans have moved indoors.

The White House Task Force warned of significant deterioration in the report last week. The task force also stated that the deterioration has only continued last week, leading to the most diffuse spread of the virus to date, according to CNN.

Hospitalizations all across the country also topped records for the second day in a row. On November 11, 65,368, people were hospitalized. It was an increase from the record of 61,964 on November 10, according to the COVID Tracking Project. That is twice the number from October 2020.

Many hospitals are already at their breaking point across the United States, with overwhelmed and overworked staff members and a continuing increase of patients.

Wisconsin and 65 counties are at very high levels of COVID-19 spread, and 90% of the state's hospital beds are full, according to the Health Department. The Mayo Clinic Health System also stated that Wisconsin no longer has empty beds for new patients.