With November comes the holiday season, first and foremost being Thanksgiving. Usually, this means lots of traveling amid flu season, which used to only occasionally crossover. Now, the two—travel and illness—seem synonymous, with a pandemic tearing its way, across the world. On a smaller scale, closer to home, many will chance trains, planes and highways to see family.
As much as we would much prefer to see social distancing complied with at a Draconian level, we know this is something of an impossibility for Americans. College students, typically of an age that seems to pride itself on the fallacy of imperviousness, will surely be crisscrossing the country spreading COVID-19. This, of course, was predicted long ago. So, with this appearing to be the case, we would like to offer some tips and advice for college students planning to return home for the holidays.
1. Self-Quarantine: Don't head home the Monday before Thanksgiving and plan on sitting at the table Thursday. Either, A) Return home early and immediately quarantine for two weeks in a bedroom, or, B) Quarantine for two weeks in your dorm room/apartment prior to returning home. In short: you will want to be separated from all people and places for two weeks before seeing your family. This is the hardest part, but it may be a matter of life-or-death for your family members.
2. Drive Alone: This may not be an option for everyone, but it is the safest form of travel considering the coronavirus. Consider which travel method will expose you to the fewest people for the least amount of time. Of course if you can’t drive home alone, stay masked and maintain proper hand hygiene: wash regularly and thoroughly, and carry hand sanitizer. The Washington Post has a useful guide to help anyone with their traveling.
3. Get Tested: You need to know whether you are carrying the disease or not. Because tests act like snapshots (they represent moments, not swaths of time), you should get tested more than once. Ideally, you should test negative twice, separated by a period of three days before seeing family.
4. Wear a Mask: It's simple, effective, and not nearly respected enough. Wear it inside, outside; wash your reusable ones; cover both your mouth and nose. It's so insultingly easy that to not do it might start sending some negative unintended messages to your loved ones.
5. Table Size: Keep it a small affair this year, delay the gratification until next year; It'll be worth it if you can keep another person around the table next year, rather than have them for this one. Also, consider hosting outdoors where it will be harder for the disease to spread from person to person. A long table that keeps guests distant is another suggestion.