Michael Osterholm: ‘No Christmas Parties; There Is No a Safe Christmas Party in This Country Right Now’

EXCERPT:

CAMEROTA: "So can you just give us that tough medicine. Your recommendation if you were the head of the CDC would be what for Christmas?"
OSTERHOLM: "At this point no gatherings outside your immediate family that are in a sense potted together. And what I mean by that is the people who you have been with, who haven’t had outside exposures. So if your son and daughter coming home from college, they are not part of your pot. Either they quarantine for 10 to 14 days or they are not part of what happens at the holidays. Don’t get together with neighbors. No Christmas parties. There is not a safe Christmas party in this country right now unless everybody for the previous 10 to 14 days were potted. You know, I think many of my colleagues are saying limit it to ten people, whatever. You know, that’s -- that's happy talk. We have to tell people what’s happening. As you report these numbers every day and I know that you don’t grow insensitive to them, you understand these are all humans who have lost their lives who won’t be at the Christmas table this year, but at the same time we keep telling people who are really upset, you know, we are coming down too hard. I mean, look at how governors and mayors are taking the heat for trying to limit transmission, but look what’s also happening. So we have to say the next three to six weeks at minimum, longer, are our Covid weeks. We just have to get through this. Please, save a life, particularly the ones that you love, and don’t get together for these holiday parties, holiday events. That’s the very best thing that you could do to love someone today."