Most FL Thanksgiving Plans Don’t Include Travel: Patch Survey

FLORIDA — With coronavirus cases increasing in Florida and around the country, public health officials urged residents to stay home or take precautions for Thanksgiving.

In the week before the holiday, we asked Florida Patch readers about their plans. A total of 545 responses came in between Wednesday and Friday afternoon. The survey is a non-scientific questionnaire intended to show reader sentiment.

Fifty-three percent of those who responded to the survey said they are only celebrating Thanksgiving with their household. Another 32.5 percent said they planned to celebrate with family or friends who are outside their households, and 3.9 percent said they were going to gather virtually.

The remainder said their Thanksgiving plans fell under "other," with responses such as "alone," "outdoors in my back yard with two family members and one friend socially distancing, "with NO ONE," and "with my patient."

Florida families will decide if they limit Thanksgiving dinner to their households or invite extended family with precautions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the safest way to celebrate is with people in your household.

"As cases continue to increase rapidly across the United States, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with, " the CDC said last week. Gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the flu."

As of Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health reported 953,300 positive coronavirus cases statewide. Coronavirus cases have increased by 8,085 since Monday.

Some respondents said Thanksgiving visitors have to test free of coronavirus first.

"I am requiring that my family with children who go to a brick and mortar school be tested prior to getting together," wrote one Florida grandparent.

Most respondents aren't taking that step; 86 percent said they will not get a coronavirus test before Thanksgiving to be sure they know they don't have the virus. Seven percent wrote they would be tested, and another 7 percent said they didn't know.

And there were multiple pleas for people to wear masks.

"We are only staying with our household ONLY. All should do the same," said another survey participant. "Our state should be mask mandated! All should stay home. worse is coming for sure! Our governor should be removed for not saving lives!"

"People need to wear masks in public, close the bars and socially distance in restaurants. Follow CDC guidelines," said a reader.

"Thanksgiving should be a family get-together fun event," shared a respondent.

Several commenters said they have been staying close to home since March, and will continue to do so through the holiday season. One reader said they canceled a flight to Ohio to see family, and another said, "I hope people will understand how dangerous a Thanksgiving dinner with anyone outside the household could be. We do not want a Thanksgiving dinner to turn into a Christmas funeral."

"Our grown 2 children from northern states will not be coming down," said a reader.

While another was more forceful about the risk of travel this year: "STAY HOME YOU MORONS!"

A commenter said they have several visitors coming to Florida to stay with them, two of whom are college students who must leave their dorms. "Everyone is getting COVID tests to know if they have it before they get here and we here in Florida have done the same. It's not perfect but something. We plan to stay among ourselves and will get tested again when everyone goes home / back to school."

Because it's Florida, where temperatures allow for comfortable outdoor dining in November, a sizable number of survey respondents said they plan to hold Thanksgiving dinner outside.

"I will offer optional outside seating for anyone who chooses to sit outside. All guests will be given a wet wipe upon entering our home to clean their hands and phone!" a reader wrote. "My buffet will be set up in a non traffic area room so the food is not constantly surrounded by people. We are thankful and we celebrate family. Our Easter was sad this year with the pandemic and we don’t want that memory to be the same as Easter for our Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday."

"Since I don’t mingle, just do shopping when needed, I’m not quarantined. However I will eat with one friend outdoors if weather permits, or else alone," said another. "Hoping people heed warnings so we can have a Merry Christmas.

Not everyone is changing their plans.

"We normally go out for dinner with a couple of family members and also a friend who has no family - a total of 5 of us and planning to do the same this year," one respondent said.

"No change to our lives at all!" said a reader.

"I think that if anyone is concerned about celebrating, they should choose how their own family will celebrate," said another survey taker. "Don’t put in mandates trying to scare me or my family to not live how we want. If people are scared, they should stay in."

And there was this grim prediction by a reader for Dec. 25: "Unless the positivity rate drops below 5, there will be NO Christmas either!"