Centers for Disease Control Says to Bring Your Own Food if You Insist on Doing Thanksgiving This Year

The agency released new guidance on holiday gatherings

Throughout the pandemic, a lot of people have just wanted a clear answer on when they can safely hang out with family again. That question becomes even more pertinent around the winter holidays, so the Centers for Disease Control released guidelines on things to keep in mind if you want to celebrate as safely as possible. When it comes to food, the CDC says BYO. “Encourage guests to bring food and drinks for themselves and for members of their own household only; avoid potluck-style gatherings,” the organization writes. It also advises wearing a mask while preparing food, and using things like single-serving salad dressing and condiments to keep people from sharing.

However, that implies you’re having an in-person meal with family at all, which the CDC says is less than ideal unless it’s with the people you already share a household with. “In-person gatherings that bring together family members or friends from different households, including college students returning home, pose varying levels of risk,” it says. The CDC recommends considering “high or increasing levels of COVID-19 cases in the gathering location” before holding an event. Unfortunately, nearly the entire country is classified by COVID Exit Strategy as having “uncontrollable spread,” so no matter where you live it’s not looking good.

Other CDC advice remains the same: if you’re going to do an in-person gathering with people from different households (which again, bad idea), outdoors is safer than indoors, masked is safer than unmasked. People who have COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are at increased risk of severe illness should not do in-person gatherings at all. And ultimately “celebrating virtually or with members of your own household (who are consistently taking measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19) poses the lowest risk for spread.” It sucks, but look on the bright side — your Thanksgiving dinner can just be a box of Stovetop stuffing for yourself, which is what you want anyway.

And in other news...

• The winter does not bode well for restaurants, unless they get a bailout. [The Guardian]
• A migrant worker was fired by an Ontario farm after he complained that poor living and working conditions would lead to COVID-19 spread. Now, he’s won a lawsuit against the farm. [The Star]
• If you were worried about ordering out so much, don’t worry, Dr. Anthony Fauci orders takeout multiple times a week. “I feel badly about restaurants losing business,” he said. “And I feel it’s almost a neighborly obligation to keep neighborhood restaurants afloat.” [CNBC]
• An investigation into how Triumph Foods, one of the largest pork processors in the U.S., ignored COVID safety concerns and allowed hundreds of employees to fall sick, in order to keep profiting. [USA Today]
• In an effort to bring people with different politics together, a Louisville restaurant will give free food to anyone who trades in their Trump merchandise and apparel. [Courier Journal]
• Women be compelled to drink diet soda. [Jezebel]
• We maybe did not need a report to know we’ve all been snacking a lot. [FBN]
• A Cracker Barrel in Connecticut apologized after a customer pointed out it had decorations that looked a hell of a lot like nooses hanging from the ceiling. [Fox]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]