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Will your Thanksgiving dinner plans be riskier depending on where you carve your turkey? The short answer: maybe! A map made by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and Stanford University show the risk level of attending groups events throughout the country.
The map is divided by counties and breaks it up into risk percentages based on whether your Thanksgiving will have 10 or 20 people attending. Georgia Institute of Technology noted that: "The risk level is the estimated chance (0-100%) that at least one COVID-19 positive individual will be present at an event in a county, given the size of the event."
For gatherings of 10 people, places like New York City and Charleston, South Carolina are at a low-risk percentage under 10 percent. However, Monroe County, Kentucky has a 56 percent risk rate. Calhoun and Jones counties in Iowa also have a high risk rate (upwards of 83 percent) for gatherings of 10 people.
As for gatherings of 20 people at a minimum, many counties in Wisconsin have a risk rate of at least 75 percent. North Dakota is another state where folks should think twice before hosting a big Thanksgiving indoors this year if they want to following pandemic guidelines.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also listed some guidelines for celebrating Thanksgiving this year. They say that if possible, you should have gatherings outdoors. However, if you plan on hosting folks or attending a celebration indoors, be sure to open windows for airflow.
Single-use plates and utensils are recommended for serving and eating this year, along with avoiding going into areas where food is being prepared and plated. Another idea would be to ask guests to bring their own food and drink, the better to curb any chance of potential spread.
As always, the CDC also recommends washing your hands frequently, wearing a mask with two or more layers over your nose, and practicing social distancing.
Some states have also established Thanksgiving gathering restrictions in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced on Wednesday that folks cannot have more than 10 people inside their residences for the holiday. How this will be monitored and enforced, however, remains unclear.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California also established Thanksgiving guidelines amid the pandemic. People from more than three different households cannot gather, masks must stay on after folks are done eating and drinking, and singing and shouting are "strongly discouraged."
Wherever and however you're celebrating, be smart, be safe, and save room for dessert.
