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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that recent small gatherings have become a growing source of COVID-19 spread, as some have grown restless and anxious following months of relative quarantine and social distance from friends and family.
There has been an average of approximately 52,000 new COVID-19 cases reported daily over the past seven days according to officials, with more than half the states in the country showing a positive infection rate of more than 5 percent in those tested for the virus.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said that “in the public square, we're seeing a higher degree of vigilance and mitigation steps in many jurisdictions.
“But what we're seeing as the increasing threat right now is actually acquisition of infection through small household gatherings.”
The CDC said that with the holiday season rapidly approaching, it will be up to the public to maintain vigilant and continue staying the course to flatten the COVID-19 curve.
“Particularly with Thanksgiving coming up, we think it's really important to stress the vigilance of these continued mitigation steps in the household setting,” Redfield added, though the CDC. has not specified how many people entail a “small gathering.”
The CDC recently issued guidance to help keep people safe while socializing during the holidays, and the advice applies to casual meetups of any kind at any time of the year.
According to the CDC, celebrating virtually or with members of your own household poses low risk for spread, and in-person gatherings pose varying levels of risk.
Event organizers and attendees have been advised by health officials to consider the risk of virus spread based on event size and use of mitigation strategies.
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