The key is having several lines of the defense, experts say. “Don’t count on your mask to be a total blockade,” Michael Osterholm, PhD, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s coronavirus advisory group and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told The New York Times. Sure, masks help, but they’re not 100 percent effective. According to Osterholm, “The time of exposure is really important.” Read on to discover more Thanksgiving shopping mistakes you need to steer clear of, and for another Turkey Day tip, check out If You’re Doing This, You Won’t Be Totally Safe From COVID on Thanksgiving. Read the original article on Best Life. You always want to avoid large crowds at the grocery store, and that’s especially true this year. According to Google Trends data, grocery stores are the least crowded on Mondays around 8 a.m. And during Thanksgiving week, Wednesday is almost always the busiest shopping day. In addition, the data shows that bakeries are most crowded at noon, grocery stores fill up between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and liquor stores peak around 6 p.m. And for one thing you should keep off your menu this year, This Is the Worst Thanksgiving Dessert, Survey Says. One thing you definitely want to avoid doing is aimlessly perusing the aisles for hours on end. Instead, Linsey Marr, PhD, an aerosol scientist at Virginia Tech, told The New York Times that a 30-minute trip is the target you want to aim for. “A half-hour seems like about the right time, where hopefully you can get something done, but you’re not putting yourself in a higher risk situation,” Marr said. According to Marr and other experts consulted by The New York Times, the tried-and-true practice of washing your hands is essential for safe shopping. While you may think gloves are the way to go, they are not recommended or necessary if you properly and frequently wash your hands. And for more holiday COVID tips delivered to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Sure, you want to get in and out of the grocery store quickly, but that doesn’t mean you should be reaching over other customers to grab that last can of cranberry sauce. Getting too close to fellow shoppers, even if you are all masked up, is more than just rude—it increases your risk of exposure should the person you’re close to sneeze or cough in your presence, for example. And for a little break from COVID news this holiday season, check out 30 Thanksgiving Facts to Share With Your Family.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
