Here’s how to protect your Christmas celebrations from COVID-19

It’s not a Filipino Christmas celebration without sharing joy with your loved ones!

However, as the country continues to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the IATF has banned family gatherings and parties to stop the spread of the virus.

Despite this, celebrations between household members and visitors are allowed, provided they are limited to a maximum of 10 people. To protect your celebrations from viruses, here are some tips:

1. Do your research.

According to the US Center for Disease Control, check the background before going to meetings. Find out the number of COVID-19 cases in your community and whether you will be exposed during your trip by attending the meeting.

If you plan to host a gathering in your own place, know where your guest is coming from and if your community has a lot of COVID-19 cases or not.

2. Limit the number of guests.

According to IATF guidelines, meetings should have no more than 10 guests. In addition to limiting the number of guests, you should also know the behavior of your visitor before the meeting, if they go out frequently or not, if they wear masks and follow health protocols.

3. Have a quarantine of 2 weeks beforehand.

In addition to knowing whether or not your guests are out frequently before the meeting, it is also very important to urge them to stay home for 14 days before the meeting.

4. Social distancing

You should also make sure that guests practice social distancing during the gathering. Avoid crowds and keep a distance of six feet from other people.

5. Keep it outdoors.

If possible, hold meetings outdoors to limit the spread of the virus.

Use an open tent that provides enough space to practice social distancing.

However, if you decide to keep it indoors, be sure to add more ventilation inside by opening windows and doors.

6. Turn down the music.

When holding a meeting, turn down the music. This prevents people from yelling or yelling loudly over the music.

7. Prepare the appropriate safety equipment.

Bring masks, disinfectants, and tissues to your meeting. It’s also best to assign a hand washing station for all guests. In addition to encouraging all guests to wash their hands frequently, high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs and light switches should be sanitized.

You should also prepare an area where your visitors can place their masks.

8. Enforce food safety practices.

Although there is no evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through food, you can still contract the virus by touching infected food or utensils.

To avoid spreading the virus, avoid having a potluck-style celebration and encourage visitors to bring their own food and drink for themselves and members of your household.

It is also best to wear a mask while preparing and serving food. Where possible, assign only one person to serve the food so that other people do not touch the serving spoons.

In addition to limiting the number of people entering the kitchen or grill area, also encourage visitors to constantly wash their hands.

9. Disinfect materials properly afterwards.

After the meeting, be sure to wash all used bedding and clean dishes and utensils with hot water immediately.

10. Do not attend meetings if you have been exposed, have symptoms, are immunosuppressed, or are waiting for the results of the swab test.

If you’ve been exposed to COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms, are immunosuppressed, or are just waiting for your swab test result, do the right thing: don’t be selfish and just don’t go to the meeting.

This protects not only you, but also the people you love.

There are still numerous ways to celebrate Christmas without contracting and spreading the virus. It is still much better to be healthy and protect our loved ones, even if it means keeping your distance for a while, than to get sick, regret it, and be uncertain about the future. – Kaela Malig / RC, GMA News