Editorial

Next week, limit your Thanksgiving gatherings

Posted

With the Covid-19 infection rate creeping up above 3 percent in parts of New York state, including Long Island, Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week issued two executive orders. The first requires any establishment with a liquor license, including bars, restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys and pool halls, to close after 10 p.m. The second limits gatherings in homes to 10 people or fewer.
Thank you, Governor, for staying on top of this terrible outbreak and showing the courage to do what is potentially unpopular, but vital to maintaining public health.
The evidence is overwhelming that large gatherings lead to higher infection rates — and more deaths. Public health officials are pleading with families to abide by Cuomo’s most recent restrictions. Many have said on social media and in other forums that the government cannot control what they do in their own homes. That’s true. Law enforcement is not likely to come and bang on your door if 25 family members and friends attend your Thanksgiving get-together, provided the celebration doesn’t spill into a public venue.
You would, however, have to live with the consequences if the disease were to spread among your guests. So, please, stick to the rules. They were put in place to protect you and your loved ones. Think of it like this: Put off the big celebrations this holiday season so you can all get together in 2021.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said last Sunday that we could very well round the corner on this disease next April with a Covid-19 vaccine, which now appears within our reach. So please be patient until then and limit your social interactions, as difficult as that might be.