Most In IL Plan Thanksgiving Within Households: Patch Survey

ILLINOIS — It's been a challenging year, with the coronavirus pandemic changing the way we work, live and socialize. And the holidays are looking no different. Earlier this week, Patch asked Illinois readers how they plan to spend Thanksgiving — and most said they plan to stay home or celebrate within their own households.

But some readers balked at suggestions to skip a large celebration and said it will be business as usual this year.

Patch's survey, which appeared in questionnaire form Wednesday on Patch, is not meant to be a scientific poll but only to give a broad idea of public sentiment.

The survey came a day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that Tier 3 mitigations will take effect statewide starting Friday to help stem the spread of coronavirus as cases and hospitalizations surge.

Experts say the coronavirus is airborne and that tiny droplets containing the virus can linger indoors for hours as aerosols, making indoor events such as Thanksgiving dinner especially risky, since guests have to remove their masks to eat and drink.

More than 2,000 Illinois Patch readers responded, and the overwhelming majority of them — more than 64 percent — said they plan to spend Thanksgiving with their own household only.

But 26.1 percent said they will reject Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and spend the holiday with family or friends outside their household.

More than 6 percent said they plan to have a virtual gathering with family or friends. Others who responded said they plan to spend Thanksgiving alone or with their own household plus their children who are traveling from college or out of state.

'Virus Isn't Taking A Holiday': Pritzker Gives Holiday Guidance

Illinois Health Care Workers 'Paying The Price' As Cases Surge

Holiday Events In Chicago: What Is Your Risk Of COVID Exposure?

One person wrote that their Thanksgiving had been canceled after a family member died of the coronavirus. "Family member got COVID in hospital stay & died because laws & health guidelines not being enforced," the reader wrote, calling for penalties for those who violate guidelines. "Bring to justice those responsible. Charge should be severe & MUCH worse than DUI."

More than 80 percent of Patch readers who responded said they do not plan to travel to see family or friends for Thanksgiving. Some readers — 14.3 percent — said they plan to travel locally for Thanksgiving, and 5.3 percent said they still plan to travel out of state.

Few Patch readers planned to follow CDC suggestions to have an outdoor Thanksgiving gathering or keep the windows open for added ventilation. More than 64 percent said they don't plan to do either of those things, and just 7.4 percent of those who responded said they would host Thanksgiving outdoors, weather permitting. Just more than 28 percent said they would keep the windows open if weather permitted.

The weather in the Chicago area on Thanksgiving is expected to be slightly warmer than the norm, with temperatures in the low 50s and partly sunny skies.

Most Illinois Patch readers — more than 67 percent — agreed that those who host or attend Thanksgiving celebrations with those outside of their households should wear masks. More than 22 percent said no to masks, and 10.6 percent weren't sure whether they should be worn.

Health officials also urged those attending a Thanksgiving gathering to quarantine for two weeks before, but most Illinois Patch readers balked at that suggestion, with 70.2 percent of the more than 1,500 who responded to that question saying they would not do so.

Illinois readers also balked at undergoing a coronavirus test before gathering, with more than 83 percent saying no.

Despite refusal to quarantine or test, the vast majority of Illinois Patch readers —more than 72 percent — said they are concerned that Thanksgiving gatherings could contribute to a surge of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. More than 21 percent said they aren't concerned, and the rest were unsure how they felt.

Most Patch readers who chose to leave a comment said they and others should take precautions this Thanksgiving. Here's a sampling of comments from those who responded:

• We are just having our 3 kids 21,17,14. Oldest will test before leaving her dorm: my mom can come and her husband will need to test. Happy thanksgiving 2020
• We are only celebrating with our household, instead of extended family. Everyone seems to understand.
• Immediate Family only, no friends or other guests. Outside if possible, but definitely windows open, no matter what the weather. A 2-3 hour time for dinner only, and then everyone needs to leave. Sanitizing everything before and after guests.
• I’m not celebrating but I know of family members that are hosting thanksgiving and I think it’s not the year to do so, but they don’t care. Probably 20 or more people... sad they just don’t get it.
• We celebrated Thanksgiving a couple weeks ago when we had that 75 degree Sunday. Thanksgiving is a state of mind, not a specific day. People need to be smart and flexible with their celebrations this year.
• We will not be with our 4 children and 6 grandchildren. First time in 38 years.
• We are forgoing travel to see family and not entertaining local family. Just look at the cases in Canada which doubled four weeks after the Oct. 12 Canadian Thanksgiving.
• We have changed our Thanksgiving plans this year. We are not celebrating with extended family or friends. We are keeping it small and just our household.
• I’m thankful for my family and friends. So I don’t want to kill them
• Staying home celebrating by myself with my cat since COVID-19 has invaded my immediate family (brother has it)
• All of our family will stay home, in their own family units, for Thanksgiving. This is sad, but necessary for now. This isn't the time to throw precautions out the window.
• My daughter and son-in-law are delivering dinners to all the people at their Zoom, prior to the meeting. Isn’t that nice?
• Picking up dinner prepared by a banquet facility and eating alone for the first time in our 70 years.
• As noted above, much smaller group of 8 vs a typical 18 to 22. social distancing, outdoor cooking, and masks as appropriate
• We are missing family members this year so that we don’t miss any permanently in the years to come.
• We were going to fly to Colorado but both states are seeing record cases so we canceled.
• I will be staying home with my dog there will be other thanksgivings but there will never be other people that pass away
• Two of my college aged children are not coming home for Thanksgiving. I always have my 95 year old mom over for dinner and I usually host out of town family. That is not happening this year to ensure everyone's safety.

Others were defiant, felt no need to change their holiday plans from the norm or were upset about CDC-suggested safety measures:

• "Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks to God for all the blessings he has given to us. It is not a day to fear but to give thanks for every day we have been given. Tomorrow is not a guarantee!"
• "Business as usual"
• "on one tells me what to do in my home"
• "Time to stop hiding and letting government control our lives. We have been wearing masks and distancing ourselves from people since March and obviously nothing works."
• "This is the USA, and we still have a constitution, though the snowflakes would beg to differ, preferring socialism."
• "Suicide is high enough right now. Controlling families and leaving people alone on holidays is not the answer!"
• "Having 20 people this year, looking forward to it!"
• "for us...business as usual."
• "There is zero evidence that having thanksgiving will rise cases and hospitalizations. This is all assumption based on bias and tyranny."
• "How is it a celebration if you require people to wear masks, take a test before showing up, bring their own food, and keep distant within the household? May as well just talk on the phone! That's not socializing!"

And a family of health care workers had this to say:

"We have planned for our household only to celebrate for quite some time. We are health care professionals and have a deep and realistic understanding of the public health ramifications otherwise. How fortunate we are in this day and age to have internet access and the ability to celebrate virtually with loved ones. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures if we are to get through this pandemic as quickly as possible. To deny this and all of the guidance and information which has been widely available to the public from the beginning of the pandemic, would be reckless and an assault on those around us who are not part of our household. Those who exhibit willful disregard of CDC guidelines and state mandated measures guided by science have been either living in a cave or under a rock for the past 8 months or are keeping their heads in the sand because it’s inconvenient. The power of denial and utter display of selfishness by a large number of American citizens in response to this pandemic, is breathtaking. If these same people were to spend one hour in the hospital or a COVID clinic, perhaps their perspective would shift. When your friends in the medical field are either dying from COVID or killing themselves due to the overwhelming burden of stress that the they are experiencing on the front lines, one has a more empathetic approach to coping with this public health crisis. Only as the selfish and ignorant begin to lose 'their own' will they perhaps have an inkling of respect for the power of COVID-19."