Over the past week, many had been wondering how their festive activities for turkey day might be affected in light of the current pandemic. Thanksgiving is a holiday that is based around giving thanks for all that we have, and being able to enjoy the company of loved ones.
COVID-19 has made social activities, family gatherings, and celebrations more difficult to take part in safely. Some of North’s teachers and students reported on their holiday plans and the precautions their families are taking to stay safe over the break.
“I’m going to be going to my aunt’s house, and we are all going to get tested. If even one person has a positive result after the testing, we are gonna cancel it. We really hope that doesn’t end up happening though. We are planning to go to Maine and stay there, and it’s gonna be my family, my aunt and her immediate family, and my grandparents.”
—Junior Molly Greenwold
“Derek, my husband, and I are flying to Seattle. The reason we are going to Seattle is because both of his older brothers live there. One of his brothers is married and has two kids, and one of my nieces is four and the other niece is about a month old. Derek’s parents live in Hawaii, so Seattle really is a good midway point for us to meet, and it is really convenient because we don’t need to worry about staying in hotels in the midst of a pandemic. Also, everyone is getting tested, and me and my husband are getting tested twice, once in Massachusetts and again by a doctor when we get off the plane in Seattle. Hopefully, we will have our results back by Sunday, and our plans are to isolate from the family until we know what our results are. Our hope is that everyone will be negative and that we can essentially all be together throughout the course of the Thanksgiving week.”
—Math teacher Caroline Vuilleumier
“I’m gonna be in Vermont at my house, and normally we have a big family gathering but we’re going to zoom each others’ nuclear families together. We are definitely not engaging with people outside of our immediate group, and we wear masks whenever we go outside, and maintain social distance. I believe that’s normal in Vermont because Vermonters tend to maintain social distance and are not as much of a close-knit group. In short we are trying to have a fun Thanksgiving but also take necessary precautions to stay safe during the holiday.”
—Biology teacher Barbara Gibson
“This year we are making sure to keep a tighter group for Thanksgiving than normal. It’s only going to be immediate family and limited to three households worth of people kept under ten to fit state guidelines. Other than the safety precautions, it will be Thanksgiving as usual with all of the family recipes.”
—Senior Finian Belson
“My family is coming to our house, and everyone is getting tested for COVID-19. My parents and I were tested very recently, and my brother, who just came back from college, got tested at school once a week regularly, and has been negative the entire time. We have some family from Florida and Utah, and they are no longer allowed to come as the amount of cases in both states are currently spiking. So, now everyone attending pretty much lives within a 20 minute drive from my house, and has to get COVID-19 tested at least 72 hours in advance. Also, we are planning to stay home the week leading up to Thanksgiving just to make sure that we stay negative and don’t contract the virus. This issue is that it is going to be a little cold this Thursday, so we are going to be hosting everyone indoors, but as long as everyones’ tests come back negative we should be fine.”
—Junior Jay Sapers-Sydney
