As Canadians across the country prepare to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones, one infectious disease specialist is sharing some tips for how to ensure these gatherings are as safe as possible amid COVID-19.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, is an infectious diseases faculty member at the University of Toronto. He told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday that there are a few “layers of protection” the public can add to help make their celebration a safe one.
First and foremost, Bogoch said, everyone should keep their gatherings small.
“At the end of the day, we know fewer people equals lower risk,” he said.
Bogoch said the situation varies across the country, adding that different health units have outlined specific numbers for maximum holiday gathering sizes.
He said ultimately, “smaller is better, though."
He said keeping your holiday gathering to just a few people is “smart” considering the “pretty impressive rise” in cases of the new Omicron variant.
Large gatherings in poorly-ventilated spaces are “a perfect setup for the introduction and spread of COVID-19,” Bogoch said.
Bogoch said it’s also important to make sure no one attending your gathering is experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.
He said if you have access to rapid antigen tests, it’s a “great idea to use those before everyone gathers.”
Unlike the widely-used PCR tests that must be processed by a lab, rapid antigen tests can provide results in as little as 15 to 20 minutes.
Bogoch said there are a few different rapid antigen tests being utilized across the country, but all are very user-friendly.
He said there are videos online to help instruct the public on how to use them properly.
“Just follow the steps,” he said. “It’s easily laid out.”
Bogoch also said that if you’re meeting indoors, it's important to make sure there is good ventilation.
“Open up those windows and doors, but crank the heat because it’s December,” he said.
Bogoch said you also have to be “very mindful of who is in the room.”
He said if you have older individuals, or those with underlying medical conditions who are at a higher risk of severe infection from COVID-19, you have “little wiggle room, or no wiggle room.”
“You don't want to introduce COVID into a setting like that,” he said.
Bogoch said masks are an “added layer of protection,” but realistically, people celebrating in small groups over a meal probably won’t be wearing them.
“I mean, you can’t wear a mask when you’re eating – just to state the obvious,” he said.
Bogoch said if you have only a few people gathered, all of whom have been vaccinated and who have taken a rapid test, in a well ventilated room it’s alright to remove the mask to eat.
“You’re going to peel off that layer of protection, but you still have four other good layers of protection,” he said.
He said while none of those layers are perfect, they’re “all pretty good.”
“If we keep the gathering small, we just reduce the likelihood that COVID is introduced into the setting in the first place,” he said. “I mean, what are we all going to wear mask with our four or five people hanging around the table eating turkey? Like not a chance, we're not going to do that.”
Bogoch was also asked whether it’s alright to invite an unvaccinated person to your holiday gathering.
He said that is a judgment call individuals will have to make depending on their situation.
“You're going to get a bunch of different answers from different people,” he said. “I don't fall into the camp of treating unvaccinated people as infected until proven otherwise. I don't think that's fair.”
He said the science has shown vaccinated people can also become infected with COVID-19.
“I would obviously prefer that everybody's vaccinated, “he said. “But I think what you have to think about is ‘What's the risk? What is this individual's day to day life or activity, [and] is this person at risk of getting this infection based on that?’ And obviously, you have to make a value judgment.”
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