Virtual Thanksgiving Gatherings Recommended By CDC In 2020

ATLANTA, GA — Much as it has upended schools, sports and Halloween, the coronavirus pandemic could reshape how families gather for Thanksgiving. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shared guidelines on how families can have a safe holiday, recommending smaller dinners and virtual gatherings.

Holiday travel isn’t advised because it poses a higher risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. Staying home is best, the experts said.

If you do travel, the CDC wants people to be aware of the risks. High-risk activities include:

• Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on or after Thanksgiving.
• Participating in or being a spectator at a crowded race.
• Attending crowded parades.
• Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgment and increase risky behaviors.
• Attending large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your household.

Read more CDC recommendations for how to have a safe Thanksgiving.

Moderate-risk activities

• Having a small outdoor dinner with family and friends who live in your community. You can lower your risk by following CDC's recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.
• Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing.
• Attending a small outdoor sports events with safety precautions in place.

Georgia Department of Public Health in Atlanta reported a total of 314,685 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 2:30 p.m. Monday. According to the health department's website, that includes 1,381 newly confirmed cases over the last 24 hours.

Georgia also reported 6,946 deaths so far from COVID-19. In addition, the state reported 28,179 hospitalizations and 5,187 admissions so far to intensive-care units.

Counties in or near metro Atlanta continue to have the highest number of positives, with Fulton County still in the lead.

1. Fulton County: 27,529 cases — 49 new cases since Saturday
2. Gwinnett County: 27,358 cases — 62 new cases since Saturday
3. Cobb County: 19,551 cases — 38 new cases since Saturday
4. DeKalb County: 18,647 cases — 47 new cases since Saturday
5. Hall County: 9,247 cases — 22 new cases since Saturday
6. Chatham County: 8,428 — 21 new cases since Saturday

Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the most deaths from COVID-19.

1. Fulton County: 576 deaths
2. Cobb County: 426 deaths
3. Gwinnett County: 404 deaths
4. DeKalb County: 362 deaths
5. Dougherty County: 187 deaths
6. Muscogee County: 169 deaths
7. Bibb County: 170 deaths
8. Clayton County: 162 deaths
9. Richmond County: 162 deaths
10. Chatham County: 159 deaths

As of Monday, Georgia has administered more than 3.1 million COVID-19 tests, with about 9 percent of those tests the less reliable ones used to detect antibodies. For the more-reliable test for the virus itself, 10.2 percent of tests came back positive. For the less-reliable test for antibodies, 8.2 percent came back positive. The overall positive rate was about 10 percent.

As more Georgians were tested over the last month, the percentage of positive tests inched upward from about 8 percent to more than 10 percent. However, over the last few weeks, the percentage of positives has stabilized at about 10 percent. According to the World Health Organization, positive test results should no more than 5 percent for two weeks before reopening for business as usual. Georgia largely reopened for business in April and May, and since then Gov. Brian Kemp has promoted the use of face masks but has steadfastly refused to mandate them.

All Georgia statistics are available on the state's COVID-19 website.

Globally, more than 32.6 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 999,000 people have died from it, Johns Hopkins University reported Monday.

In the United States, more than 7 million people have been infected and more than 204,000 people have died from COVID-19 as of Monday. The U.S. has only about 4 percent of the world's population but more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.