BUFFALO, N.Y. — Typically, Thanksgiving is a time where family and friends gather around a table to enjoy a traditional turkey dinner and give thanks. However, health experts say a traditional Thanksgiving is not the safest option this year.
"The safest Thanksgiving this year is going to be a Zoom or FaceTime Thanksgiving, I'm afraid," said UB's Chief of Infectious Disease Dr. Thomas Russo.
The Centers for Disease Control has holiday recommendations listed on its website. Having a virtual Thanksgiving dinner or having dinner with people within your household is recommended because it has the lowest risk of spreading COVID-19.
The CDC recommends if you are planning to attend in-person holiday gatherings with people outside of your household, to quarantine for 14 days before the gathering.
CDC officials also recommend attending a holiday gathering outside, socially distanced with everyone wearing masks. Guidance states, "staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others."
However, some people will still travel for the holiday and New York State currently has 43 states on the Travel Advisory list which means you would have to quarantine for 14 days upon return.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul says booking travel to states on the travel advisory list for Thanksgiving is risky.
"I think booking plane travel to any state that's currently on the quarantine list would certainly be risky unless you are certain you are going to get a refund," Hochul said.
Just last week Governor Andrew Cuomo excluded bordering states Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut from the quarantine requirement. He said non-essential travel to those states should be avoided.
2 On Your Side asked Hochul if Thanksgiving travel would be considered essential, she said, "It's considered non-essential that's the phrase the governor used, strongly discourage non-essential travel."
Last year AAA predicted 55 million people would travel for Thanksgiving this year; however, the pandemic has drastically changed that prediction.
"One of the trends we saw this year is people waiting till the last minute to book holiday travel and that's unheard of, normally holiday travel is booked well in advance," said AAA DIrector of Public Relations Elizabeth Carey.
Carey said most people will be traveling by car, others by air plane, but which is the safest option?
"The safest means would be by car if it's a short trip; however, if it's a longer trip probably airline travel would be safer than a bus or train and that's primarily because of the superior ventilation on a plane compared to those other modes of travel," Russo said.