At-home gatherings contributing to the spread of COVID-19

This article was written for our sponsor, the North Carolina Healthcare Association.

The world continues to deal with the global pandemic brought on by the novel coronavirus.

While a vaccine has been developed, it hasn't been rolled out on a mass scale yet, and with new variants of COVID-19 emerging, the risk of contracting the illness is still very real. It's important to continue to social distance, wear a mask, and wash your hands often.

While people are generally doing their part by wearing masks and sanitizing when outside of their homes, casual, at-home gatherings with small groups of friends and family are contributing to the spread of COVID-19. Small indoor gatherings can feel deceptively safe — whether it's a birthday celebration, a game night, a sleepover, carpools or just having a friend over who lives elsewhere.

While many initial coronavirus clusters were linked to nursing homes and crowded bars, new cases are being linked to small, private, social gatherings that seem harmless, but everyone's social bubbles are bigger than people might realize.

"Some of it is science and some of it math, but exposure isn't a 1:1 ratio. Instead, it's an exponential spread," said Jessica Dixon, RN, who has worked as an infection prevention specialist for the past 15 years at WakeMed in Raleigh.

Dixon previously worked as an EMT and a nurse.

"Let's say I have COVID and I give it to five people, and each of those five people then gives it to five more people. We're now up to 26 of us that have it," Dixon said. "And then say each of those five people gives it to five more people — and suddenly we're up to 151 people who have it."

The continued spread of COVID-19 is a reflection of "COVID fatigue" and widening social bubbles, asymptomatic carriers, and people gathering together indoors where the air is not well-ventilated as temperatures outside drop.

It's important to note that asymptomatic and presymptomatic people can cause transmission to multiply in a single gathering — someone can spread the virus a week after being infected without showing symptoms.

Additionally, the development of the vaccine has made some people feel safer and more lenient, despite the fact a small percentage of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated thus far.

"I think we're all well aware that we shouldn't be having parties or going to large gatherings, but people gather with other people that they feel comfortable with. They don't take the same precautions they would otherwise take with strangers," said Dixon.

"After almost a year of dealing with the pandemic, we are all experiencing COVID-19 fatigue. It can wear you down. As a result, some people are unfortunately making unwise decisions and participating in small gatherings," added Dr. Roxie Wells, president of Cape Fear Valley Hoke Hospital in Raeford. "However, if we don't remain vigilant about the three Ws — wearing a mask, washing our hands and waiting six feet apart — we will not be able to relax these standards and could find ourselves in similar conditions later this year."

Hoke Hospital is licensed to have 25 beds, and 17 of them were occupied by COVID-19 patients when Wells was interviewed.

"That number rises and falls at any given time, so it truly is a concern," said Wells. "When we talk to patients, what we're finding is that they've had some type of small gathering, whether it was at their home or some neighbors came over or their children came to visit. We believe their exposure occurred in those instances."

Dixon relayed an experience about a friend who had been isolating with her husband and staying at home for the duration of quarantine.

Her husband, who was looking for a new job, ended up going to a job interview where three other people were present. Two of those people came down with COVID. Fortunately, Dixon's friend did not become infected, but easily could have in this instance despite their months of precautions.

"All it takes is one time — one exposure," said Dixon.

Gov. Roy Cooper has limited indoor gatherings to 10 people. Healthcare workers have been caring for hospitalized COVID-19 patients for almost a year, and with hospital volumes recently leveling and starting to decline, they want that positive trend to continue.

"This is a time to skip casual indoor gatherings like birthday parties and getting together with friends to watch sports on television," said Cynthia Charles, vice president of Communications at NCHA. The North Carolina Healthcare Association is a healthcare trade association whose members are health systems and hospitals.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that the best way to keep the virus that causes COVID-19 out of your home is to stay home with only members of your household but people can still interact with friends virtually or meet outdoors staying at least six feet apart and wearing masks," Charles said.

While Dixon and Wells both advise the public to stay vigilant about only physically associating with those you live with, they are both empathetic to the mental and emotional struggles of social isolation.

"Human beings are social creatures," said Dixon. "But people must err on the side of caution."

The following are some tips for "being together" while staying socially distant with your friends and loved ones:

• Host a virtual watch party on platforms like Hulu, Amazon Prime or Netflix
• Participate in digital workouts with friends
• Video chat to stay connected on platforms like Zoom or Facetime
• Join a virtual book club or discussion group
• Play online games

"The COVID-19 vaccines are bringing hope and a sense of relief that it won't be long until we can enjoy socializing indoors with people in our wider social bubbles. While we wait for a larger supply and wider availability of vaccines, this winter is an opportunity to connect with people virtually or in socially distant ways outdoors that are creative and fun," said Charles.

This article was written for our sponsor, the North Carolina Healthcare Association.