Dr. Dave Hnida's Thanksgiving Advice For Coloradans: Quarantine, Test, Plan

(CBS4) - CBS4 Medical Editor Dr. Dave Hnida has joined the voices encouraging families to limit interactions for Thanksgiving or to at least quarantine.

Gov. Jared Polis began the discussion about quarantines last week.

"If you plan on seeing relatives from other households for Thanksgiving you should self-quarantine and avoid the risk of infecting yourself today so you're not unwittingly bringing that in and losing a loved one — a family member who only wants to celebrate Thanksgiving with you. And that's a very important caution for people not to play Russian roulette over Thanksgiving," he said in a COVID-19 news conference. "You wouldn't do it with a gun and you shouldn't do it with the virus."

At the time, the governor said to quarantine for 14 days but that deadline has now passed. But Hnida said in an extended interview on CBSN Denver that every day of a quarantine is better than none.

"Seven days is better than 0 days," he said. "If you can limit your exposures to the outside world, I think that really is kind of a key in terms of adding an extra layer of safety to getting together with others."

Hnida also addressed testing around the Thanksgiving travel. He said it's a good idea to get tested before you travel.

"In terms of timing that gets a little bit dicey because you really want to have that testing done as close to your trip as possible. There a lot of questions about when you get a test result back. You've got to figure out a little bit of lead time before you get the test done and when you are leaving," he said.

"It's really important to not just get a rapid test before you travel -- it's probably not going to give you a good measure of what's going on at the time. Rapid tests really are not the most accurate test. You should get the PCR test as close to getting a result to the time you travel as possible."

He also talked about testing after travel. If you don't have symptoms, he suggested a test about 7 days after you return.

"Do we have elderly seniors who are visiting with us or we getting together with people who risk factors for severe illness?"

But when it comes to sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner, Hnida said we really n

eed to make wise choices based on individual situations.

"I think the general rule should be along these lines: your gathering should be small, should be short, you should practice social distancing, you should mask. If you have outsiders coming into your home, mask when you're not eating. Try to ventilate your home as well."

His final bit of advice? "Take the precautions that you can in order to enjoy holiday but make it a safe holiday."