OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — This year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations will give people a chance to party with family and friends, say goodbye to 2020 and ring in 2021. With celebrating, there are COVID-19 concerns to keep in mind though.
We recently talked with doctors at CHI Health and Creighton University.
They said we didn't see a big surge of COVID-19 cases in the area after Thanksgiving because most people did what they were supposed to do. By limiting gatherings, there were fewer chances of exposure.
But New Year's Eve is different and they said it may be a bigger threat
“I am a little bit concerned about New Year’s,” said Dr. David Quimby, an infections disease specialist at CHI Health. “If you think about what people do for holidays, for those who are not strong introverts like me, there tends to be more public parties and things like that with New Year’s.”
CHI doctors said there has been an uptick in Nebraska-patient deaths in the last three weeks.
They urge people to keep doing what we've been doing — wearing masks, social distancing and keeping vigilant in hand hygiene until we can all be vaccinated.
If you do get exposed, or come in contact with someone who has COVID-19, you should immediately quarantine for at least 10 days as you might not have any immediate symptoms. Also, don't get tested for at least a couple of days after the exposure because it takes a while for the virus to grow and multiply in your system. If you take the test too soon, your results may not reflect a building COVID-19 infection.
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