Keys to having a safe Christmas: how many people is recommended to have dinner with and other measures
The coronavirus crisis
Two specialists in epidemiology and public health propose recommendations to reduce the risks in family gatherings this holiday season
Pilar AlvarezMadrid -It is clear that Christmas 2021 is not the same as a year ago. Between then and now, the vaccine has arrived, which in Spain has been administered in record numbers and time: almost 80% of the Spanish population has completed the guideline and about 75% of those over 60 have already received even the third dose. The situation is not in the starting box, but the rise of the omicron variant of the coronavirus does place the population in a complicated situation: on Wednesday, the record for daily infections in the entire pandemic was exceeded in Spain for the second consecutive day , with 60,041 reported cases. The explosion of new infections comes just at one of the times of the year with the most reunions and family gatherings: the Christmas holidays. How many people should I meet for dinner? How much does the vaccine protect me? How should I ventilate? Is it advisable not to bring older children together? Two specialists - a professor of Epidemiology and a professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health - give an answer to what can be done to try to have Christmas as safe as possible in the face of the advance of infections. In this maelstrom of rising cases, the President of the Government announced on Wednesday the return to the mask outdoors from Friday the 24th, Christmas Eve.
If I have passed the disease, am I protected from contagion in a family gathering?
No. Having passed the covid is not sufficient protection. "It depends on whether you have had the infection, whether you are vaccinated and the number of doses you have been given," explains Fernando Rodríguez Artalejo, professor of Epidemiology at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). Ana María García, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Valencia, also recalls that there is not only the risk of re-infection, but also of being contagious: "It is less likely" that the person will become infected or infect a third, he adds, "but not impossible."
Is the vaccine worth protection?
Being vaccinated protects against a serious infection and the risk of being hospitalized, but it is less effective in the face of an asymptomatic or mild infection, both specialists agree. And remember, in any case, that zero risk does not exist.
Does the third dose of the vaccine work? How much does that booster dose protect in case of risk of contagion in a family event?
Almost 75% of the Spanish population over 60 years of age already have that booster dose, according to official data. Ana María García recalls that it has been decided to give this third dose "because it has been shown that the relative protection decreases with the two previous doses". So it helps prevent serious illness and death, but again, the vaccine is not sterilizing and zero risk does not exist.
Is there any extra precaution to be taken if elderly or immunosuppressed people attend the family reunion?
This is the most important variable to take into account, Rodríguez Artalejo considers, because even if these people have all three doses, they are the ones who are most at risk of becoming infected and developing the disease. García warns that precaution is valid for that meeting and for subsequent days: “The elderly or immunosuppressed person may not attend dinner, but some of her subsequent contacts will, so she may end up infected.” She adds that, although the risk of serious illness is greater in this group, infections with serious consequences also occur "in all age groups and in all circumstances."
Unvaccinated children, to what extent are they a risk?
From the epidemiological point of view, the people with the highest risk of being infected are minors and also those between 20 and 29 years old, says Rodríguez Artalejo. “But that does not mean that they do not go to dinner: the key is to take measures that we already know: limit the number of diners to reduce the probability that there may be one infected and limit the number of infectables, wear masks whenever you are not eating and use tests”, explains the epidemiologist.
Is it necessary to do cross ventilation in the rooms where we are going to meet?
Here, the main recommendation is to do as many meetings as possible outdoors. “There is an abysmal difference in contagion, the risk indoors is very high,” says García, who recommends that if the meeting can only be held indoors, it should be in well-ventilated spaces, trying to maintain a safe distance and wearing the mask all as long as possible. Rodríguez Artalejo adds that the key is to “add layers of protection or reinforce some of those layers” if, for example, good ventilation is not possible. In other words, wear the mask for as long as possible, a short dinner or lunch is better than sharing for many hours, better to get a test before the meeting than not to do it at all.
From how many people is it dangerous to meet?
More than in the group of guests, the key is in the family units or bubble groups, that is, how many different groups of cohabitants (uncles, cousins, grandparents...) come together for the meeting. "The prudent thing is that there are no more than two bubble groups or three if they are small groups," explains Rodríguez Artalejo. García adds that, as in the rest of the measures, the fewer people, the better: “For a contagion to occur, it is enough that there are two.”
You have to get tested, yes or no? Are they reliable?
Specialist Ana María García considers that antigen tests are not entirely reliable because "a negative with the antigen test is no guarantee of anything and a positive is somewhat more accurate, but requires confirmation." She warns of the "false security" that a negative test can give and insists that the measures that protect are those already known, from isolation to ventilation, including keeping your distance and wearing a mask. Given the appearance of symptoms, she adds, "I would not recommend anyone to go to these family gatherings, neither with tests nor without them." Rodríguez Artalejo considers them "another layer of protection" that helps if the rest of the measures are applied and in that sense he recommends that they be done a few hours before the match. In the event of a shortage of tests, she adds, "the logical thing is that the people with the highest risk of infecting them do it: unvaccinated children, young people between 20 and 29 years old and any unvaccinated who attends."
I have been in contact with a positive, how many days can I wait to be reunited with my family? what should I do?
A close contact of a vaccinated person with an infected person, according to the protocol in force in Spain, is not required to quarantine – except if he is immunosuppressed or is in contact with a positive person for gamma and beta variants (very residual in the country). What the Public Health Commission did recommend on Wednesday is that, although they are not obliged to quarantine, they limit their activity and social interaction to what is strictly essential.The two specialists, in this case, recommend in any case to quarantine at least 10 days.
Is it recommended that the date for lunch or dinner with relatives be away from home?
The precautions that the two experts have been explaining are valid both for those who eat at home and for those who go to a restaurant. Better with two or three bubble groups, an exterior is much more recommendable than an interior and without losing sight of the fact that the more people we do not know there are in the place you go, the more risk there is.
Can starters be shared at lunch or dinner at these family gatherings?
There is no evidence that the virus is transmitted through food or fomites (the small droplets of saliva that remain on surfaces). The recommendation in this case is in line with good table manners: specific cutlery for serving and washing your hands before sitting down to eat.
This is how specialists dine
Beyond the general recommendations, the two specialists consulted to prepare this information tell what their own family gatherings will be like this Christmas vacation. Fernando Rodríguez Artalejo will spend Christmas Eve with his brother's family and with his 93-year-old aunt. There will be nine people and three bubble groups. All vaccinated. His children and his nephew will have an antigen test. “Most of the time that we are not eating we will have a mask, and if we ventilate it will be for a short time at some point,” explains the professor of Epidemiology. The professor of Preventive Medicine Ana María García will have dinner alone on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day she will eat with her parents, keeping her distance, with masks and with ventilation.
about the signature
Pilar AlvarezThe gender correspondent for the newspaper EL PAÍS is specialized in social issues (Equality, Gender Violence, Education) and she has spent most of her career at EL PAÍS. She previously worked at Efe, Cadena Ser, Onda Cero and the newspaper La Opinion. She has a degree in Journalism from the University of Seville and a Master's degree in journalism from EL PAÍS.
RulesMore information
What do I do if I test positive or live with someone infected? Keys to act at a time of explosion of covid cases
Lucia Foraster Garriga / Paola Nagovitch | MadridSpain exceeds the maximum number of daily cases of coronavirus for the second consecutive day with 60,041 infections
M. Victoria S. Nadal | MadridFiled in
most seen
- 'Votamos', the Goya-nominated short film that puts mental health on the table
- Thousands of Canadians Protest Mandatory Vaccination of Truckers
- Victims of abuse in the Church look to Congress with hope: "It's time to pull up the rugs"
- Last minute of the coronavirus, live | 373.8 million infections and 5.6 million deaths worldwide due to the pandemic
- Lead, but not by example