TAMPA, Fla. — As you get ready to host or travel to a party or gathering for the holidays, Tampa Bay Area doctors have a few things people should keep in mind to help stay as healthy and safe as possible.
“COVID and other diseases are still around. I just cover myself so I could cover my family,” said Rachel Ortiz.
Ortiz still has masks handy when she’s around town. She’s getting ready for a gathering on Christmas Eve. But if someone said they weren’t feeling well, she knows what she would do.
“I would send somebody with a plate, but you won’t feel like safe to be with the other people, so you better stay home,” said Ortiz.
Right now, 'tis the season to catch something around the holidays.
“I think we’re seeing what everybody’s seeing across the country,” said Dr. Doug Ross, the Chief Medical Officer of AdventHealth Tampa. “Huge flu and RSV and a little bit of COVID to boot.”
One of the biggest things health experts want people to keep in mind is what to do if you’re feeling under the weather.
“If you’re sick, please don’t go out. Please don’t spread it,” said Dr. Ross. “That’s probably the most important lesson really is if you’re not feeling well at all, try to stay at home.”
“Are you going to be, with the holidays, over [with] your grandmother, who’s going to be coming to visit you who’s 85 years old? If so, you may want to up your game a little on what you’re considering in terms of protection,” said Dr. Thomas Unnasch, a Distinguished USF Health professor.
Dr. Unnasch said to calibrate your response to how comfortable you are with the risks and what your personal situation is. His top precaution suggestions are to get your vaccinations, wash your hands, and wear a mask in crowded places.
“If you’re going to be on an airplane, it’s a really good idea to wear a mask, particularly, not necessarily so much on the airplane is the problem, but in that jetway when you’re boarding the airplane and there’s no ventilation and you’re standing there with 50 or 100 of your closest friends, yeah, it’s not a bad idea to have a mask on,” said Unnasch.
Tarah Risher explained for her family, they’re getting back to normal.
“I’ve got three kids in school, so any time something, a bug that they bring home or whatever, my grandma’s kind of elderly, so we like keep them away from her,” said Risher. “As far as anything else, just kind of same old, same old.”
