COVID, COVID, COVID. We are all tired of it!
Parents ask me every day, “What should we do for the holidays, Doc?”
We are frustrated about staying home, wearing masks, being told not to gather with people who don’t live with us, and standing on those little markers 6 feet apart.
More than ever, these are still the measures that we should continue to follow through the holiday season.
Why do we need to double down on our efforts?
We face a critical time in this pandemic. Cases of COVID-19 are surging across the globe, throughout our country, within our state, and inside of our local community.
As cases increase, hospitals will fill up, and the success that our doctors have had in recent months (of saving lives one patient at a time) will be compromised as health resources become scarce and medical teams are overwhelmed with a tidal wave of very sick patients.
To avoid restrictive lockdowns, our public health leaders have asked each one of us to make tough choices, especially during the fall and winter holiday season.
Comparing last Spring to this Fall
Think back to last spring. We worked so hard to reduce community spread and things started to open up.
Then came Memorial Day, graduations, Father’s Day and the 4th of July. The combination of celebrations, gatherings plus summer travel left us with a significant summer surge.
Fast forward to where we are now.
Cases are increasing. We await our most cherished holidays, including Thanksgiving, Hannukah, Christmas and New Years, and the traditional travel to gather with our family and friends.
If you combine cold weather, indoor gatherings and COVID fatigue, we are facing a critical time in this pandemic.
What is happening locally?
In the state of California, we saw a 47% increase in COVID-19 cases from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7.
Those of us caring for patients in Santa Barbara have seen a significant increase in cases of COVID-19, despite being in the “red tier.”
This last week alone, we have seen positive cases in several schools, youth sports cohorts, after-school programs, restaurants, workplaces and just about every corner of our community.
The state of California recently issued a new travel advisory, asking anyone who has traveled outside of California to self-quarantine at home for 14 days upon their return.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is asking us to avoid traveling for the holidays, reminding us that “travel and mixing households increase the chance of contracting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.’”
Santa Barbara County Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg advised us that “mixing households for holiday gatherings can be a very dangerous activity this year during the significant surge in COVID-19 cases we are currently experiencing nationwide. Please avoid gathering with people that do not live in your household and be diligent about wearing face coverings when you leave your home. These actions will save lives.”
The current health officer order does not allow for gatherings (large or small) and our Health Department asks each resident to please take the following tips into consideration:
Based on your plans, evaluate your risk for contracting the virus.
Consider a virtual holiday meal where you connect with loved ones by video chat.
Honestly assess any risks posed by various methods of travel, such as traveling on an airplane, train, or bus.
Be open and transparent with family and friends about concerns, illnesses, and expectations.
Home for the Holidays
We are all tired of COVID-19, and no one wants to think about making changes to long-standing family holiday traditions.
This is my favorite time of year, too.
But we should make plans to modify the way we celebrate to benefit the health of our family, friends and neighbors.
Activities that felt safer to do in September and October may not be as safe to do now.
Many in the local medical community are concerned about what will happen if we do not listen to what our public health and infectious disease experts are telling us about avoiding travel and holiday gatherings.
The pandemic won’t last forever. We have high hopes of safe and effective vaccines and other new treatment options arriving very soon.
But until these hopes become reality, we must continue to take individual responsibility and do what we can to minimize the spread of this virus.
I hope that you will join me in making the hard choices to modify family traditions and stay home for the holidays.
Do your best to avoid gathering with people outside of your household, and when you do venture out of the house, please remember to wear a face covering, practice good hygiene, and observe physical distancing of at least 6 feet.
Let 2020 be a year to create new family traditions. Make it fun and memorable.
Take the time to be thankful for the things we have, and try not to think too much about what it would have been like.
If we can reimagine the 2020 version of being “Home for the Holidays,” I am confident that we will keep our friends, family and loved ones healthy enough to enjoy many more holiday seasons together.
Dr. Dan Brennan is a board certified pediatrician at Sansum Clinic who hopes we will all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19 by being Masked and Mighty. He can be contacted at 805.563.6211 or by visiting www.sbpediatrics.com.
