Celebrating Easter and the end of Passover safely
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)-- Doctors are urging everyone who will celebrate Easter and the end of Passover to be safe. The Centers for Disease Control released guidelines for fully vaccinated people.
Fully vaccinated people can also gather with members of one other household, even if those people are not vaccinated, as long as they are not considered high-risk of developing a severe illness from contracting COVID-19, and they do not live with someone who is high-risk.
The CDC and local doctors are urging members of the public who will gather, for the holidays, to do so outdoors.
"Outdoor gatherings are certainly lower risk for any transmission than indoor gatherings, so if you're getting together with people, we definitely recommend an outdoor, open-air venue is your more safe bet," said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Gonsenhauser recommends people who are not vaccinated continue following the safety measures that have been in place for months. That includes wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and exercising proper hand hygiene.
“There’s still enough COVID out in the community and enough people who have not received vaccination that if we’re not cautious, we are not careful, the current spike that we are seeing right now that current increase in cases that can worsen," he said. "That can continue. That could become significant if we’re not careful.”
Gonsenhauser and Dr. Joseph Gastaldo, from OhioHealth, explained the best path to normalcy is for as many people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
"The safest thing to do to get back to celebrating holidays in a normal way, in a private house, is to get fully vaccinated," said Gastaldo. "That's the path of least resistance and that's the safest thing to do without people fully vaccinated, getting together in a private setting is still a risky proposition."
You can find the Centers for Disease Control's safety recommendations at this link.