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AdventHealth Doctors Share Tips for a Healthier Thanksgiving. Hint: It Involves Outdoor Gatherings

Photo: Derek Owens
Photo: Derek Owens

Health experts say Central Floridians who are hosting Thanksgiving dinner should prepare for guests becoming sick at their gatherings or testing positive afterward. 90.7 WMFE has these tips for what to do in both situations. 

AdventHealth Centra Care Medical Director Dr. Tim Hendrix says anyone who feels sick should stay home and not attend holiday meals this year to begin with. 

But Hendrix says if a person starts to feel symptoms while visiting with family or friends, say a loss of taste or smell, the person should leave and get tested as soon as possible. 

He says if any guest including asymptomatic ones tests positive for COVID-19 after a get together, participants should be notified and get tested.

“When that happens, if you’re preventative to begin with the likelihood of spread is going to be very low. But if you’re not, then you got to worry. And you need to go get everybody checked. Everybody needs to quarantine, they can all go get tests to determine if they have had transmission.”

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Hendrix says the easiest way to prevent the transmission of the virus this Thanksgiving is to wear face masks, limit the size of social gatherings, and keep them outdoors.

Or to keep events virtual.

“I haven’t seen my parents out in California in over a year and a half because we usually make our yearly trip out there to visit them. And I’d love to go to see them for the holidays. But they’re older, they’re vulnerable. I can’t put them at risk.”

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Florida reported nearly 8,000 new coronavirus cases in residents yesterday.
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Danielle Prieur is WMFE's education reporter.