Typically on Thanksgiving, families gather from all over the country, visit and travel to celebrate.

But the rise of Covid-19 cases and the safety risks involved have caused countless families to set precautions and alterations in place for the upcoming holiday festivities. 

Freshman Aolani Cannon’s family is just one of the many that have had to work around Covid-19 for their Thanksgiving plans. Cannon said, “My family is planning on just staying at home. We’ll probably cook and invite our (immediate) family over.”

Although Cannon said her family had not been planning to travel for the holiday, she did add that the pandemic had forced her grandparents to stay home. “My grandparents live out of state, so they aren’t going to be able to come to our house for Thanksgiving like they usually do.” Cannon said her family was planning to take all of the precautions necessary to avoid contracting Covid-19 during the holiday. 

There are also those who still have plans to travel safely and cautiously during the holiday. Junior Abby Rotz and her family intend on going to Anna Maria Island in Florida. “We were supposed to go last year during spring break, but Covid-19 starting hitting really hard, so we had to cancel the trip.”

Rotz added that her family had already paid for the rental house in Florida and they could not get a refund, so “in order to not lose all of that money,” she said they made plans to go during the Thanksgiving holiday. “We’re going with another Cathedral family, but we’re still being really cautious around the pandemic,” she said.

Rotz added that both families were aware of the rising coronavirus numbers both in Indiana and Florida, so if there was a ban or a staggering amount of cases, Rotz said that they would probably have to rethink their Thanksgiving plans. “We’re going to wear masks, bring hand sanitizer, social distance on the beach and do anything possible to avoid getting or spreading Covid-19,” Rotz said. 

With the uncertainties surrounding Covid-19, Cannon and Rotz are just two of the numerous people who have to rethink and adjust their annual Thanksgiving festivities. Whether it is reducing the sharing of food, socially distancing or cautionary traveling, the Thanksgiving holiday is expected to look much different than past years. 

Rotz said, “We just have to be extremely cautious and aware around the pandemic because anything could change at any time.”