With Thanksgiving right around the corner and December’s holidays quickly approaching, it’s important to take a safe approach to spending the holidays with your family or friends.

In New Jersey, the current limit for general indoor gatherings is 10 individuals. Make sure to maintain ventilation for any indoor events and stay safe!

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Keep it small

If you have a “pod” with friends/family, that would be the ideal group to celebrate the holidays with you. Otherwise, definitely just keep it to a small group of family members or friends you trust or at least live in the area as long-distance travel is considered a high-risk activity.

Consider getting tested beforehand

To ensure the ultimate sense of security, especially if you’re spending the holidays with any at-risk individuals, consider getting tested for COVID-19 before the holidays if you’re unsure if you’ve been exposed to it. Some may feel more comfortable getting tested twice, as it could take time for the virus to come up on a test. Alternatively, consider asking family members to quarantine for 14 days before a holiday.

Disinfect areas that see high traffic

Doorknobs, countertops, faucets, and other high-traffic surfaces should be disinfected regularly throughout the day, especially if you’ll have members of other households attending your family gathering. If possible, make disinfectants available throughout your home to ensure guests are able to disinfect any surfaces if they so choose.

Change up the food serving process

Family dinners often have a potluck style to them, but with the increased risk in the area, consider changing up the process. You can have designated people in the family safely serving their households if you have guests visiting. Alternatively, if you’ll just celebrating with your household and close family, you could all even share recipes with each other beforehand so everyone has their own foods prepared and you don’t have to miss out on dinner traditions.

Try a virtual dinner/celebration

If you’d like to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19, your family and friends can organize a virtual dinner or celebration for the holidays. This would be a great alternative for any loved ones who typically travel long distances for the holidays.