CDC Recommends New Yorkers Cancel Thanksgiving With Family

The CDC announced a number of restrictions that will completely change the upcoming holiday.

The CDC is recommending people not to celebrate Thanksgiving with anyone they don't live with. The health agency added large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your home on Thanksgiving as a high-risk activity to spread COVID-19.

"Thanksgiving is a time when many families travel long distances to celebrate together. Travel increases the chance of getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others. If you must travel, be informed of the risks involved," the CDC wrote while issuing its first set of guidelines for Thanksgiving.

The CDC recommends you only have Thanksgiving dinner with the people who live in your household. A virtual dinner with friends and family is also considered a low-risk activity, according to the health agency.

Other Thanksgiving traditions like Turkey Trots, parades and Black Friday shopping could also become coronavirus super spreaders, according to the CDC.

The CDC issued guidelines for Thanksgiving labeling activities as high risk, moderate risk or low risk.

Higher risk activities

Avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:

• Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on, or after Thanksgiving
• Participating or being a spectator at a crowded race
• Attending crowded parades
• Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
• Attending large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your household

Moderate risk activities

• Having a small outdoor dinner with family and friends who live in your community
• Lower your risk by following CDC’s recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.
• Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
• Attending a small outdoor sports events with safety precautions in place

Lower risk activities

• Having a small dinner with only people who live in your household
• Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors, especially those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and delivering them in a way that doesn’t involve contact with others
• Having a virtual dinner and sharing recipes with friends and family
• Shopping online rather than in person on the day after Thanksgiving or the next Monday
• Watching sports events, parades, and movies from home