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'Completely different celebration': Families in Ottawa and eastern Ontario can gather for Thanksgiving dinner during COVID-19 pandemic

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OTTAWA -

Residents in Ottawa and eastern Ontario have the green light to gather with family and friends for dinner this Thanksgiving weekend, as the second Thanksgiving of the COVID-19 pandemic feels different than the first.

"I'm very thankful I get to see my family and stuff, compared to last year I had to see way less," said a shopper in the ByWard Market on Saturday.

Ontario and Ottawa public health officials say families and friends can gather for a traditional dinner indoors or outdoors with people from outside of their household, as long as they follow the public health guidelines for gatherings.

"If we look at Thanksgiving this year compared last year it's night and day, it's a completely different celebration," said Dr. Isaac Bogoch during an interview on CTV News at Six.

"Last year the advice was if you don't live under that roof don't go into that house, and this year we're sort of nit-picking as to who can be there and how many people can be there."

CTV News at Six anchor Stefan Keyes asked the infectious disease specialist about the debate on whether unvaccinated individuals can or should attend a family gathering over the holiday weekend.

"In all fairness, I think we should be very mindful of any potential members who are attending a Thanksgiving get-together who might be vulnerable to infection – for example elderly grandparents, people with underlying medical conditions that might put them at risk of a severe infection if they were to get infected," said Bogoch.

"I don't know if it's fair to treat all unvaccinated people as infected until proven otherwise, I'm not sure that's really a fair assessment. But I think that we should be thinking about what our day-to-day exposures are, what is the burden of COVID in the communities we live in, who's going to be under that roof and let common sense prevail."

Ontario health officials said indoor gatherings with people from outside your household is permitted, as long as you follow the current gathering limits of 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

"This is the power of vaccination," said Dr. Raywat Deonandan. "With vaccinations we can do magical things we could not do a year ago."

Ottawa's medical officer of health is urging people to exercise caution when planning social gatherings.

"Make things safer by keeping activities outdoors when possible, keep gatherings small, limit close contacts, wear a mask and make sure hand sanitizer is readily available," said Dr. Vera Etches in a statement last week. "Consider the vaccination status of attendees and the vulnerability of people who have not yet been or are unable to be vaccinated."

The Ontario government issued guidelines for hosting an indoor gathering this Thanksgiving weekend.

  • Have the fewest number of people possible at your gathering
  • Use outdoor spaces whenever possible
  • Provide all the necessary supplies, including hand sanitizer, soap and water
  • Open windows, if possible
  • Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces
  • Ask guests not to attend if they have symptoms, even if they are mild
  • Make a list of guests attending in case your local public health unit needs it for contact tracing
  • Wash your hands before and frequently when preparing and serving food
  • Have everyone wash their hands before and after eating

Health officials say if you are planning to attend an in-person gathering this weekend, stay home if you have any symptoms.

During an interview on CTV News at Six last Thursday, Dr. Etches was asked if she's worried about a spike in cases in schools after the holidays.

"No, I hope not. I think people do have the skills. We've learned what makes a difference to decrease COVID-19 transmission – the distance, the masking, the keeping windows open, all of these things make a difference," said Etches.

Last year, Ontario imposed new restrictions on Ottawa, Peel and Toronto at the start of the Thanksgiving weekend to deal with rising COVID-19 case numbers. The restrictions included maximum gatherings of 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors, while restaurants had to close for indoor dining.

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