Contrary to what Professor Remi Salomon had mentioned a few weeks ago by causing an uproar, “We do not put grandpa and grandma in the kitchen so that they eat their logs on their own!”

Since then, the President of the APHP Medical Commission has fortunately made a mea culpa via a tweet.

Respect barrier gestures +++

Professor Fabien Squinazi, hygienist and member of the High Council of Public Health evokes the barrier gestures which, according to him, are absolutely essential:

• Wash your hands as soon as you arrive. All guests must do so because they may have touched the code, the handles, the elevator buttons, when they arrived.
• Wear the mask even inside and take it off only to eat, to avoid splashing droplets, especially when guests are discussing and when opening gifts.
• No hug, no kiss even if it’s a party, these last two measures are binding but they remain important.
• Ventilate the room before the guests arrive and then regularly, every 2 hours for a few minutes. You can also check that the ventilation system, the CMV works well and is well cleaned.

He evokes an original idea which is to appoint an evening captain who will check the barrier gestures.

At mealtime

This is clearly the key moment, when the transmission is most likely to take place! The advice from ARS Aquitaine issued this summer during gatherings is entirely valid for family celebrations:

For cocktail buffets, focus on individual portions, avoid plates and boards to share, distribute the aperitif among the plates. It is also necessary to designate the glasses and not to mix them, ditto for the plates.

Those who will cook and serve should also wear a mask and wash their hands well regularly.

For Benjamin Davido, infectious disease specialist, the important thing is to meet in a small committee (out of the question to meet at 50). According to him, we can be by table of six for example. At the table, you have to separate the generations. Do not put young people, who may be asymptomatic, with more vulnerable older people. In general, you should try to keep at least one meter between each person.

At the end of a meal, for smokers, do not share cigarettes and if possible smoke on the balcony.

Perform a PCR test before

You can go get tested. This can be an opportunity to find out whether or not you are sick. If the test is positive, no hesitation, you are not going to your family dinner and you are isolating yourself!

• If your test is negative, be careful, this is not a reason to forget everything and not respect the barrier gestures!
• On the one hand, in the event of a negative PCR test, it is possible that contamination may occur between the time of the sample and the Christmas reunion, on the way for example.
• On the other hand, antigen tests, if they can be done on the morning of December 24, are not as reliable and can lead to false negatives. It is therefore not a pass for not respecting the barrier measures.
• You can calculate your risk during your event via covidtracker.
• To be even safer, here is an application that will allow you to theoretically calculate the risk during your event. You will fill in the place of the meeting then the number of people and the application will give you the risk rate that a person is positive in your group according to data from Public Health France.