The CDC’s Safest Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, and now that Southern California’s stay-at-home order has been recently extended, many are wondering how to celebrate the end of the year in a safe way.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has come out with a list of recommendations to ensure people and their loved ones are as safe as possible.

According to the CDC, the safest way to celebrate is doing it at home with the people who live with you, or virtually, with friends and family living elsewhere. Staying home and postponing any plans to travel at this time will provide protection. Travel and gatherings with people who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting and spreading not only COVID-19 but also the seasonal flu.

In the home, plan a New Year’s party for the people who live there with you. Decorate, play music, and have a dance party in the house or in the yard. Have a pajama party and watch favorite movies or play games.

You can also plan a neighborhood countdown to midnight, with everyone standing in front of their houses and cheering at midnight.

Next to staying home, celebrating virtually is another way to have fun with friends and family on New Year’s eve. Attend an online concert or performance, or plan a virtual countdown to midnight with friends without having to be physically together.

Also check if some local organizations are planning to hold a special social media with people sharing their New Year’s resolutions, or organize one yourself and invite friends and neighbors to join.

Other online ideas include watching a live-streamed fireworks display, concert, First Night event, or other New Year’s programming. Search in the next few hours and find one to watch on New Year’s Eve.

If you really must host or attend a New Year’s party, be sure to take steps to make celebrating the New Year safer. First, make sure the gathering is small enough to practice social distancing. If possible, keep the celebration outside, and have everyone wear masks, except while eating and drinking. Wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth, and in cold weather, wear a mask under your scarf or ski mask.

Clean and disinfect all frequently touched surfaces and items between use, and remind everyone to not share their food, drinks, plates, cups, and utensils. As for condiments, it would be best to have single-use options available.

Avoid shouting and postpone the singing for the meantime; that way, you keep the noise at a minimum and help stop the spread of any disease, especially the respiratory ones.

Keeping distance — at least six feet away from others who do not live with you — is also important. When outside, avoid crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces. If the event is indoors, open windows and doors to keep the air moving.

Wash your hands often using soap and water, or use a hand sanitizer containing at least 60 percent alcohol. If you’re the host, have a number of sanitizer bottles available around the area so people won’t have to move around too much.

Don’t forget to get a flu shot as soon as possible. Doing so helps lower the number of hospital visits and avoid serious health problems from the flu.

This year, getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever. People can be infected with both COVID-19 and influenza viruses at the same time and could suffer even worse health outcomes than one infection alone.

The CDC recommends everyone from six months old and above to get a flu vaccine every year, but individuals suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 will have to postpone flu vaccinations for 14 days after receiving results.

If traveling is unavoidable, be sure to check all travel restrictions before going. Always wear a mask in public settings and on public transportation, and stay six feet away from anyone you don’t live with.

Also, consider getting a viral test one to three days before the trip, as well as three to five days afterward.

There are other ways to celebrate the New Year, but at this time it’s important to constantly be aware that you have a responsibility to keep yourself, your family and the community safe from the pandemic. So stick with the safer ways of celebrating.

For more New Year’s eve celebrating tips, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/new-years-eve.html.