If you do this, you will not be totally safe from Covid on Thanksgiving

In one year, when traveling and gathering inside is incredibly risky, you can not rely on that to stay safe.


Thanksgiving marks one of the most expensive days of the year to meet with family and relatives. Unfortunately, like Coronavirus Pandemic continues, doing exactly that could end up putting many people that you care about most may capture the virus. That's why the best agencies like theCenters for Disaster Control and Prevention (CDC) and officials such asAnthony Fauci, MD, suggests that it is better toAvoid gathering the holidays. But if you are always ready to take your chances and you plan to attend a large meal, experts warn thatThe biggest mistake you can make that Thanksgiving relies on a pre-vacation negative Covid test result as a security measure.

According to medical experts, the use of COVID-19 test results is a dangerous gamble for any other person you plan to spend Thanksgiving with great reason: you just do not know if you have coronavirus or notcertainly, even with a negative result. In fact, an August study published in the journalAnnals of internal medicine have found that people infected with coronavirus were 100% likely to receive aFaux-covidant false negative result At their first day of infection, the false negative rate is still 38% at the moment when patients started showing symptoms.

"We know that the incubation period of COVID-19 is 14 days up to 14 days. And before that, you can test negative and have symptoms"Skinny, MD, medical medicine, told CNN. "CornYou could actually be hosting the virus and be able to transmit it to others. "

Angela Rasmussen, PhD, a virologist affiliated with the Georgetown Center for the Science and Security of Global Health, "Reuters said that people"should not rely on the results of the tests alone To socialize safely in person. "" A test can only tell you that if you are positive at some point and you can not detect cases if you are infected, but not yet a substantial virus, "she added.

Many health professionals warn that the tests create "afalse sense of security," likeNeysa Ernst, MSN, Rn, a nurse responsible for the Johns Hopkins Hospital Biocontainment Unit, saidNewsweek. "There are so many communities at this point at this point. The numbers are so high that you could be tested today at 10 am, go to the grocery store at 10:30 in the morning, contact an infected person and 11: 30 In the morning, you would be positive from Covid. "

Nevertheless, medical experts know that some people will simply be unable to resist the biggest day friends and family. Read on some of their safety tips and for an idea of ​​who could be the most dangerous visitor of your Thanksgiving Table, discoverIt's when someone is most likely to give you Covid.

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Quarantine for 14 days.

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This may feel familiar with the beginnings of the pandemic, but medical experts recommend to lock for two full weeks before visiting family members, especially high-risk people. Covid-19 tests can only confirm that the lack of infection if you have really been in quarantine for 14 days. "If you want to be completely safe that you have not acquired the infection and you could not pass it on to another person, 14 days must pass,"Roy Gulick, MD, Head of Infectious Diseases in Weill Cornell Medicine and Newyork-Presbyterian, saysNewsweek.

But for this method really to work, youreally need to isolate yourself from exposure to all others. "" Grocery store "and" quarantine "do not belong to the same sentence,"Rochelle Walensky, MD, head of the Infectious Disease Division of Massachusetts General Hospital, said CNN. And for more information on the hardness of the pandemic hits your region, checkThat's how the COVID epidemic is in your state.

Or, if you have to, make a shorter quarantine with a test at the end.

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If you read this now, you are already too late to start a full quarantine of two weeks before Thanksgiving. While the prudent experts always that it's not perfectly safe, they say thatQuarantine shorter before the holidays Can be acceptable if you are able to take a continuation test - and depending on whom you have your meal with.

"If you visit an elderly family member and you have a reasonable risk of being exposed, there is no substitute for 14 days of quarantine,"Justin local, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health School, told CNN. "At the very least, I'll wait 10 days (quarantine) and have a negative test."

The location adds that if your family members are not high-risk, "then five or seven days (quarantine) plus a negative test is probably a lot of risk reduction, although no guarantee of security." And for more new COVID-19,Sign up for our daily newsletter.

Get the right type of test.

Doctor in a protective suit taking a nasal swab from a person to test for possible corona virus infection on the street. Diver through covid-19 testing center in city.
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Although coronavirus tests are not yet an exact science, experts emphasize that some types of tests can be more accurate. Molecular tests, such as the reaction of the polymerization chain (PCR) Tests - AKA Tects Nasal-areTypically much more accurate that the "fast" antigen tests. Unfortunately, the compromise is clear in the name:PCR tests require up to a week To return the results, against antigen tests that take less than an hour.

But the experts always warn not to rest too heavily on the results you receive - especially the chance you do not know that you are not yet sick. "This mentality of" As long as everyone is tested, they are safe "is also a false sense of security," said ErnstNewsweek. "There is an asymptomatic spread. People do not even have to know that they had the virus. They take their temperature that morning, they go well, they go to the gathering of Thanksgiving and that someone of Other is infected. " And for states that require tests these days, beware thatYou can not enter these 8 states without a negative covidation test.

Move your meal outside.

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If your gathering takes place somewhere that did not see the temperatures soak too low, there may be a slightly safer option to organize a large meal. According to the CDC,Move your celebration outside Can help mitigate the risk of propagation of the virus by maximizing ventilation. The Agency also recommends defining basic rules with participants before the great day, using plastic utensils and cups to serve and limit the number of guests to ensure social follow-up.

But, on November 19, the CDC warns that "the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live. Gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting or spreading Covid-19. "And for more points that could be risky, check4 places Dr. Fauci says he would not go now.

Better life Constantly monitoring the latest news regarding COVID-19 in order to keep you healthy, safe and informed. Here are the answers to yourBurning questions, theways you can stay safelyand in good health, thefactsYou must know, therisksyou should avoid, themythsYou must ignore, and thesymptomsto know.Click here for all our COVID-19 covers, andSubscribe to our newsletter stay up to date.

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