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By Emma Smith
smithe11@findlay.edu
With just days of face-to-face learning left for University of Findlay students thoughts are turning to Thanksgivings Day.
UF junior education major, Hannah Otley, says Thanksgiving is going to look a little different at her house this year.
She says her family is taking extra precautions to make sure their family could enjoy each other’s company safely.
“This year we’re all meeting but wearing masks the whole time except for when we eat, social distancing tables and spreading them apart throughout the house, if weather permits we’ll do it outside or open windows to help with ventilation,” Otley said.
Otley is from Hancock county where the rate is 599 cases per 100,000 with 454 total cases. She says her mom is also planning ahead to try to make things safer.
“My mom is sending the menu out early so people can say what they want and their plates will be pre-made by my mom,” Otley said. “She’s going to wear gloves and a mask when doing it.”
Otley said that she was excited to still be together and have some sense of normalcy during the rough year that 2020 has been.
However, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has been pleading with Ohioans for the last week to avoid large gatherings.
“Please remember that when someone you don’t live with – not in your household – enters your bubble, it puts everyone you live with at risk,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said in a news conference.
On Nov. 19, Ohio announced its first purple, or level four, county which is Franklin county. As of Nov. 22, Ohio had 333,020 cases with 5,612 deaths.
On Nov. 19 the Ohio Director of health issued a 21-day order that for everyone to stay at home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. unless they are working.
Allaina Zehender a Junior in the Social Work program is also making adjustments to her Thanksgiving holiday. She said that her family normally rents a place for Thanksgiving dinner but will stay home this year due to COVID. Zehender is from Putnam County which is the second highest cases per 100,000 among Ohio counties with 414 cases.
She still hopes that it will be special though since she is with her family.
Traditions may look a little different this year due to the virus, but this year might be an opportunity for new traditions to take form.
One of Otley’s favorite traditions is getting up really early the day after Thanksgiving to hit the mall for Black Friday deals but said that her family has decided to stay home. Instead she is focusing on the homemade pecan and pumpkin pie after dinner.
