Should I hug Grandma at Christmas? And can the kids sit on Santa’s lap? Here is the health tops’ advice for the Christmas celebration.
Once again, we are facing a Christmas with high infection rates and restrictions.
In the next few days, vaccinated and unvaccinated children, the elderly, students and adults will travel across the country to call in Christmas.
We already know that the government recommend not to be visited by more than ten guests at a time – with the exception of one day during the holiday with up to 20 guests.
But how should one really behave in the Christmas parties? Should you get tested first, and should you hug unvaccinated grandparents?
VG has asked health director Bjørn Guldvog, director Camilla Stoltenberg at the National Institute of Public Health, and Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol (Labor Party) about their advice for the Christmas celebration – and about how they themselves should celebrate Christmas.
- What are the specific Christmas tips?
– Keep a distance, and remember at least one meter distance between people who do not live together or are similarly close, says Stoltenberg.
– People should follow the measures we have now: Keep your distance, wear a face mask and limit the number of close contacts, says Kjerkol.
- If you are going to Christmas dinner at 5 pm: When should you take a quick test?
– It turns out that the quick tests can be changed in a fairly short time, so the closer to the company you take it, the better. Right before, if you can, that’s the best, says Guldvog.
– Remember that a negative answer is not a guarantee that you are infection-free, says Stoltenberg.
She points out that right now there is poor access to rapid tests in many places in the country.
- How should you treat others at Christmas, if you have not been vaccinated?
– Unvaccinated people should be extra careful at Christmas. It can be good to tell about in advance, so that those who are nearby know that they should keep some distance, says Guldvog.
– Be aware that you can infect others, and that you can also be more easily infected, even in some cases by fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated people should be extra careful to follow the infection control advice, says Stoltenberg.
– They should choose a limited number of close contacts, ie people you have contact with within one meter and hugs. Fully vaccinated should keep a distance of one meter, also indoors, to other than household members and similarly close, says Guldvog.
- Can you hug older family members on Christmas visits?
– Elderly and other people in risk groups who are fully vaccinated and have received a refresher dose, can assess whether they want to be close to unvaccinated children without respiratory symptoms and give hugs and have them on their lap, says Stoltenberg.
She emphasizes that those who are in a risk group must themselves assess the risk of infection, and decide what measures are necessary to be able to visit and contact family and friends.
– It depends a bit on how much infection there is where you are. If you come from an area with a lot of infection to grandparents in an area with little infection, the advice is that you do not have close contact and keep a distance of one meter, says Guldvog.
- Can one eat candy from the same bowl?
– The most important thing is to ensure good hand hygiene, but the risk of infection with covid-19 via food or surfaces is probably limited, says Stoltenberg and continues:
– In order to reduce the risk of infection (also with other respiratory or gastrointestinal infections), it is still an advantage to reduce direct contact with food that others should also eat, for example by supplying oneself from the bowl with a spoon or the like.
There is less risk from food than first thought, so the risk of taking food from the same bowl is probably not very great, Guldvog points out.
– A little depending on how important it is to avoid infection, you can choose different dishes – for example if you are with unvaccinated grandparents who are ill, he says.
- Should one stop singing Christmas songs?
The FHI director believes that there is no need to drop the Christmas songs, while Guldvog refers to the general advice.
– If there are very vulnerable people present, one can be careful with potential droplet or airborne infection, says Guldvog.
- Can children sit on Santa’s lap?
– If Santa Claus is from another household, I would probably recommend that you do not sit on Santa’s lap this year. But in the same household, there is nothing in the way of that, says Guldvog.
– If it is the real Santa Claus who comes to visit, we know that he is very concerned about not bringing infection between all the households he visits, says Stoltenberg.
- Can you hold each other’s hands when walking around the Christmas tree?
– We do not have special recommendations for hand holding around the Christmas tree, says Stoltenberg.
- How are you going to celebrate Christmas yourself?
– I will celebrate Christmas with the family, and must probably also expect that there will be some work, says Stoltenberg.
– I will celebrate Christmas at home in Stjørdal, and eat the stick meat my mother makes every year, and of course get my third dose in the middle of Christmas, Kjerkol says.
– I will celebrate Christmas with my wife, whose name is Trine, her children, her brother and probably his wife and three children, says the health director.
–The Christmas celebration takes place at the home of Guldvog and his wife at Grefsen in Oslo. He talks about the family’s Christmas traditions:
– In the morning, especially the youngest get to see some of the TV programs and movies that go, Three Nuts for Cinderella and Disney. In my family, we used to meet at a party on the 23rd, but we have canceled this year, says Guldvog and adds:
– Instead, we meet a little less to exchange gifts around a fire pit.
In the health top’s family, there are ribs that apply on Christmas Eve.
– It’s good to meet. Then we must take into account, like many other families, that it is not certain that Christmas is completely infection-free this time. People you have thought about coming may have to be at home, and then you have to try to find good solutions for them as well.
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