During an appearance on “CBS Morning News,” Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious disease in the U.S. said Americans should wear their masks during Thanksgiving gatherings as much as possible.
“Even if it’s a very small group, to the extent possible, keep the mask on,” Fauci said, while acknowledging you have to remove the mask to eat or drink.
With cases skyrocketing throughout the U.S. families across the country are trying to determine how to gather for the holiday while minimizing risk. Fauci said any gathering that includes people from outside your home comes with some inherent risk and if you must gather with people who don’t live with you, wearing a mask is essential.
However, if you are gathering exclusively with people who live in your home or everyone who is invited has been tested and received a negative result in the days prior to the gathering, a mask is not as important. Fauci warns though, that even if someone is not showing symptoms, they should be tested or at the very least wear a mask as much as possible during gatherings.
“There is community spread right now,” Fauci said. “(People) don’t have symptoms, they don’t know they are infected. So, we need to pull more testing into the community.”
On Thursday, the CDC released new guidelines for how to plan for the holiday if you’re planning to gather with people from outside your home. Along with wearing a mask, the CDC recommends hosting outside if possible, enforcing six feet of social distancing and limiting how food is distributed.
Experts in Michigan are also encouraging people to wear a mask as much as possible in any social gathering as it could be the key to lowering the risk in the state.
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