Sacramento County Public Health Officer Says Family Gatherings Are Still Not Allowed
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — There is no shortage of opinions about how to handle family gatherings during the pandemic.
"You have to be careful about the number of total people," Kelsey Riley in East Sacramento said.
"I think some of that depends on your family. I have a lot of older family members," Christin O'Cuddehy in East Sacramento said.
"I think in an ideal world, honestly, we wouldn't be having many family gatherings," Melanie Thomas in East Sacramento said.
But what are the general guidelines? The Sacramento County Public Health Officer said you shouldn't be having family gatherings at all.
"Right now, right now gatherings are not permitted of any size, either in homes or in businesses," Doctor Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County Public Health Officer, said.
The state is only allowing gatherings for church services or protests. Sacramento County's top health official said when people bend the rules, they tend to be more careless in their own homes.
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"There tends to be a sense of letting down their guard and they don't realize they still need to maintain the six feet separation; that they need to keep their face covering on," Kasirye said.
Kasirye believes the initial decline of COVID-19 cases and a need for connection are driving more family gatherings and an uptick in positive cases.
"Oh, I would say it's getting pretty loose. I was in Lake Tahoe this weekend and people were having massive family gatherings on the beach!" Riley said.
"Everything right now is a calculated risk. Every time you leave the home or anytime you have anyone over to the home," Thomas said.
The bottom line, according to health officials, is the risk is still too high to gather even in the comforts of your home.
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"We need to go back to our vigilance and we need to be very careful about what we are doing," Kasirye said. "It's one thing to take a calculated risk for yourself but, it's quite another when it's going to have impact to your family."
The Sacramento Public Health Officer told CBS13 there is a concern there might be more family gatherings with the summer holidays coming up. Another issue with these gatherings is that since they are happening in someone's home, the county doesn't have a way to monitor or enforce any of the guidelines in place.