As the holiday season is fast approaching with all of its many reasons for celebration, the government, or at least, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is making sure we are all well aware of the changes this year must incorporate.
According to them and their “science,” the holidays are no reason to forget about the novel coronavirus and the pandemic it has caused. Nor are we to forget that it is still hazardous. And so, naturally, we must continue to do everything in our power to stop its spread.
Now, to be sure, some precautions should be taken. Your elderly and emphysema-ridden grandmother should probably not be surrounded by all 20 of her grandchildren simultaneously, especially when half of them are grown adults who work outside the home and half of those work in healthcare.
However, it seems that what the CDC is suggesting for the upcoming holidays is a bit extreme, on just about any level.
Per their holiday guidelines, which were released to the public on Wednesday, everything we’ve been doing for the past nine months or so will still be required. That means sitting, standing, walking, etc., at least six feet apart, whether inside or out. It also means wearing masks whenever possible, and that includes in between bites.
But additionally, they advise you not to let everyone use the same serving spoon when getting your food. So either you get a new ladle, spoon, or spatula for every person, or one person has to serve everyone.
Naturally, with cold weather approaching, or in some states, already here, the CDC also encourages families to dine or spend most of their time together out of doors. But, if that’s not possible, why not open a few windows?
Oh, and of course, they note that while utilizing all of these “safety measures” is excellent, it still doesn’t eliminate your exposure risk. Therefore, the best way to go about your holiday celebrations is to keep them to the shortest amount of time as possible.
Per their Wednesday statement, “Gatherings that last longer pose more risk than shorter gatherings. Being within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more greatly increases the risk of becoming sick and requires a 14-day quarantine.”
However, that is not nearly the end of their holiday suggestions.
In addition to being frozen out of your home, forcing one person to serve them all, and standing as far apart as possible for the shortest amount of time possible, is the notion that singing and talking loudly should be avoided at all costs.
“Encourage guests to avoid singing or shouting, especially indoors.” And to make this more realistic… “Keep music levels down so people don’t have to shout or speak loudly to be heard.”
So when Great Uncle Mike starts loudly singing his favorite Christmas carol after imbibing a little too much eggnog, as he always does, you need to tell him to lower his voice and be quiet. Better yet, why not just put him outside.
Might I remind you, this is the same organization who just announces that sending kids back to school was fine and completely safe. Christmas, on the other hand, is not.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the CDC assumes you and I have no idea how to behave in a safe and healthy manner, COVID risk or not. You know, kind of like how they have assumed that if they don’t close everything down, we are all going to run around breathing in each other’s faces all the time.
It’s either that or someone has put it in their head that we are all just puppets to be controlled, which is what political commentator Dave Rubin seems to believe.
On the same day as these “guidelines” came out, Rubin made sure to share his feelings on the ordeal and how he would be handling the upcoming holidays.
He said he was beyond angry that “the government is now going to tell us who can serve food in our house, and how close we have to sit with each other, and that we have to keep the windows open,” among a “series of ridiculous things.”
And he made it clear he wouldn’t be doing any of those things.
“I’m going to have people here, and we’re going to eat freely, and we’re gonna talk, and we might sing, and I’m not going to force one person to serve everyone. Everyone’s gonna touch that spoon. That’s how we’re gonna do it. You can’t control us, you lunatics.”
Basically: The people of Whoville will celebrate regardless of what the Grinch does to deter us…