Halloween. One more holiday instead of making us smile is filling us with anxiety. Is there going to be trick or treating? I guess if there is, the candy givers and receivers masks will at least seem like costumes instead of annoying burdens. Well, there was trick or treating in our neighborhood of Brooklyn but with a twist. I did have to applaud the ingenuity of some of the candy givers in our neighborhood. A long PVC tube affixed to the stair railings of the brownstones - candy dropped in at the top of the stairs exiting straight into the child's Halloween bucket at the bottom of the stairs. No exposure to COVID, and yet, everyone enjoying the child's delight. One house rigged up a ramp and a lego truck descended with candy.
Our little bird enjoyed his Halloween. We did our Trick or Treating very early (not even dark yet) because we didn't want him overwhelmed by the older kids, and we knew he wouldn't last long. He did manage to say, "Trick or Treat" and even a prompted "Thank you" at most houses. Since he doesn't normally eat any processed sugar, we all got to experience that delightful toddler sugar 'high' as he happily gobbled some of his candy booty. Worried about whether or not there would even be trick or treating, our little bird got to go to a 45 acre farm with animal petting during the day. In true two year old fashion he was very excited about the cow (who pooped!), the tractor, and the pumpkins.
More disturbing than children collecting candy were the Halloween party goers. The millennials have been insisting for years Halloween is costume party night for adults instead of a children's holiday, I've been worried they are going to insist on cramming together in masquerade gatherings to pursue their Saturday night alcohol poisoning. Safety measures are masks PLUS social distancing not one or the other.
Hard on the heels of Halloween comes Thanksgiving. Already public health officials are expressing concern. Will Thanksgiving be the match that turns the hundreds of COVID hotspots, into a conflagration? More Americans travel on Thanksgiving than any other holiday - even Christmas -, and with the pandemic fatigue sweeping the country, well, how many people will resist the pull of traveling for one or the other holiday?
It's easy to convince yourself you can travel because, well, you're healthy. You feel just fine. Your kids are fine. This attitude doesn't take into account a fairly significant percentage of COVID cases are asymptomatic. Family gatherings can turn deadly not just for granny, but also for younger people. And, that doesn't even begin to calculate the infection risk traveling by train, bus, or airplane to your family gathering.
Of course, you can't just get a COVID test to verify you don't have the disease. Well, you say, "CVS Drugstores have 'drive through testing' by appointment". Here's the catch: If that's your plan, understand the testing requirements. If you use CVS (or a similar testing source), you have to answer a series of questions designed to determine if you have been exposed in a high risk area (hospital, prison, etc.) or if you have symptoms. If you answer 'NO', then you don't qualify to just get a test (with a 2 - 3 day turnaround, maybe) because you want one unless you are willing to pay approximately $139 (at CVS) out of your pocket for each test. Some insurance company rules about COVID tests might circumvent these CVS rules, but if you need a test to travel, and you don't want to lay out the $139, contact your health insurance company well in advance.
New travel restrictions have just been announced for arriving in New York if you are a non-commuter. You must show a negative COVID test when you arrive, be quarantined for three days, and then show another negative test. Anyone can do the arithmetic. Family of four: No symptoms. Over $1000 dollars added to your travel cost. For lots and lots of people these types of restrictions will fuel anger, sadness and resentment as our major holidays fall prey to the pandemic. Railing against the pandemic is as pointless as being angry and resentful about the weather.
Our rituals have been taking a beating for months. Now, Thanksgiving, Eid Al-Fitr, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza are going to depend on electronic media and other creative ways to celebrate this year. Even worse than using SKYPE or ZOOM to contact friends and family over the holidays are the people who are going to ignore the reality of the pandemic and pretend there's no problem as they drive to see the relatives with whom they have not created a virus free pod. Just because they are your extended family doesn't mean you can't get sick.
Be smart. Be safe. Take the long view. This too will pass. If someone you love sickens and dies or even becomes very ill because you are tired of the pandemic, how do you live with yourself in the aftermath of an impulsive, short sighted decision of how you managed your holidays this year?
