COVID and Gatherings: 5 Ways to Safely Enjoy Thanksgiving

Available for Interviews: Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is an internal medicine physician, a work-life integration researcher, and an international expert on mind-body-spirit connection. She is also an international speaker and bestselling author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity.

What Dr. Dalton-Smith  Can Say in an Interview on:
COVID and Gatherings: 5 Ways to Safely Enjoy Thanksgiving
(based on updated CDC guidelines):

  1. Keep it small and local. Limit the number of guests. Consider only inviting close family members, with whom you have regular contact. Avoid inviting family from other locations, particularly from areas with known elevations in COVID cases. Practice social distancing and mask-wearing.
  2. Single contact plate and serve. There should be no passing of the mash potatoes at this year’s events. Limit the number of people who must touch plates and serving utensils by designating a single, mask-wearing person to plate and serve the food on Thanksgiving. The smaller number of guests will help make this a more doable task for the cook.

3. Take it outside. If you live in a location with beautiful weather, consider having your gathering outside. This will allow more room for social distancing.

4. Deliver a no-contact Thanksgiving meal. If you have local loved ones who do not normally cook, you can consider providing a Thanksgiving meal for them as a no-contact delivery. Package the meal in plastic containers, leave the bag with the times at the door,  ring the doorbell, and leave the doorway area. This will give you an opportunity to see your elderly family members as they pick up their items from the doorway and they will get a chance to wave at you from a safe distance.

5. When in doubt, sit it out. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or awaiting COVID-19 test results you should not participate in in-person gatherings. This also applies if you are concerned you may have been exposed to the virus in the last 14 days or if you are at increased risks of severe illness from COVID-19. Stay home and consider a virtual gathering instead.

 

Interview: Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith runs a consulting and coaching business in Birmingham, AL that helps leaders and high-achievers reshape their view on change, communication, and self-care to optimize their personal and professional effectiveness. She is an international wellness expert and has been featured in numerous media outlets including Fast Company, FOX, MSNBC, Prevention, Psychology Today, Redbook, and Women’s Day. Dalton-Smith is also an international speaker, a CDC Wellness Series speaker, and hosts a podcast I Choose My Best Life. She is the author of numerous books including her newest bestselling Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, which includes ground-breaking insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life. Over 100,000 people have discovered their personal rest deficits using her free assessment at RestQuiz.com. Learn more about her at: DrDaltonSmith.com.

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