How to celebrate Christmas with the least amount of risk?

Four experts analyse how family meetings should be in order to avoid contagion

Maria Garcia
5 min
Com preparem el Nadal  en temps  de pandèmia?

GironaNo gatherings with people outside the support bubble. This is the only effective formula to avoid infecting the people you love the most during Christmas, according to four experts who, despite recommending that there should be no type of social gathering outside our main nucleus, give some guidelines to try to minimise the risk of infecting family members. They are the head of epidemiology of the Vall d'Hebron, Magda Campins, researcher and mathematician at the Universitat Ramon Llull, Àlex Arenas, aerosol expert and professor at the University of Colorado, José Luis Jiménez, and the president of the College of Physicians of Barcelona, Jaume Padrós.

How many people can be gathered?

Símbol persones

Procicat limits the number of people to six, except on public holidays -24th, 25th, 26th and 31st December and 1st and 6th January-, when it is extended to groups of 10, as long as there are a maximum of two different support bubbles. And it is precisely the number of bubbles that is key when assessing the possibilities of contagion in the meetings: "If you gather 4 people from 4 different bubbles, you have a greater risk than if you gather 6 people from 2 different bubbles", points out Padrós, who stresses, however, that "you cannot cheat": "The important thing is that everyone asks themselves how many people they've been with during the days before Christmas, and if they want to see a relative, that they avoid close contacts 10 days before". However, we must also take into account the number of risk situations that we are accumulating as the days go by, Arenas emphasizes: "If one day you meet 4 people, the next day 6 different ones and the next day 10 more, and then you come out positive, you will have infected about 30 people and they will have infected their relatives".

How should the dining room be ventilated?

Símbol de ventilació

The latest studies have shown that the coronavirus is not only transmitted by small droplets we emit when we speak, but also by aerosols that come out of our nose and mouth. "It's like we're all smoking and giving off smoke", Arenas uses as a metaphor, who recommends assessing whether a space is suitable for meeting: "If one person is smoking, will the rest of you breathe in their smoke?" If the answer is yes, then that room has the right conditions to infect everyone: the virus will accumulate in the air - as tobacco smoke does - and everyone will eventually breathe it in. That's why everyone stresses the importance of ventilation: "It's a matter of keeping the windows open at all times, so that the air can flow. And we can use doors or extractor hoods to make the air move", says Jiménez, who points out that this has to be done in all parts of the house that are used, including the toilets. All experts stress that the danger is greatly reduced outside: "Studies show that there are twenty times fewer infections outside than inside".

Does one have to wear a face mask all the time?

Símbol de la mascareta

Yes, and we have to take it off just to eat or drink, whether it's done indoors or outdoors: "The time before eating, and especially during the afternoon, we must always wear it, but not just for Christmas, also if we go to a bar or restaurant", Campins stresses. Another important factor is the distance and distribution at the table: "It is better to gather support bubbles in groups and leave space between those that are from different bubbles, or to place people one by one and diagonally, so that there is more space", Padrós says. The epidemiologist adds: "And it's better not to put young people or children and the rest at the same table, because they tend to have more contacts, and they have to be especially separated from grandparents and risk groups".

Is it better to have a covid test before gatherings?

Tests d'antígens

There is no clear answer. Padrós and Campins do not recommend taking any test or PCR before meals or meetings because, in asymptomatic people, false negatives can occur: "And people can confuse a negative result with a false passport to do whatever they want, and you have to wear a mask and keep your distance even if you take a test. Also, there are brands on the market with less sensitivity than what the manufacturer says". In contrast, Arenas and Jimenez, who share that protective measures must be maintained equally, do believe that testing for antigens before encounters can help avoid more positives. "20-30% of the positives are very contagious, and if they meet their relatives, they will infect all of them or half of them. And by the time it is detected, they will have spread it to others".

What about grandparents?

Gent gran

The opinion of the four experts is unanimous: in order to see one's grandparents, it is necessary to do it outdoors, with a face mask, and keeping one's distance. "If the person can walk, they can go for a walk or sit in the park, but you have to avoid meals, because that's when you take off your mask", Campins defends. In addition, the four strongly discourage indoor encounters with grandparents or people at risk, because that's where the greatest chance of contagion lies. Likewise, Arenas and Padrós emphasize time: "Outdoors you can stay longer, but if it's indoors, the less time the better". And Jiménez puts in figures: "If you spend 20-40-60 minutes sharing the air and talking up close, or you spend 15 minutes without a face mask, there's a lot of risk of getting it. But you can walk in the park or on the beach, with a mask and from a distance, and you can spend a lot of time because the risk is very low".

How can one calculate the risk of encounters?

Virus símbol

Different factors have to be taken into account. Outdoors, even though you have to maintain distance and wear a face mask, is the least probable environment in which the virus can be transmitted. Indoors, the smaller the space, the more people gather and the less ventilation there is, the more likely it is that all members of the gathering will be infected if one of the attendees is asymptomatic. At the same time, the more close contacts or risky situations that are accumulated, the more likely it is to become infected and to spread the virus to others as well. And the message from all experts is the same: it is better to sacrifice and postpone the holidays this Christmas in order to have all friends and family alive and well next year. "We are risking the future in an incomprehensible way; in 2021 will be a good year, but let's make a good start", Padrós says.

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