With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, we face the very real prospect of another spike of COVID-19 cases. But we can prevent it.

The Governor’s office, in partnership with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, put together a public service announcement for employers to send to their employees, advising against holiday gatherings and offering tips on how to celebrate safely. The sample message is below; please feel free to customize it to your organization.

The Healthcare Association of Hawaii also created graphics that employers can share, available at https://www.hah.org/covid19 (scroll down to the COVID-19 Holiday Messaging section).

Thank you for doing your part to prevent the virus from spreading in our community this holiday season.

Stay well, stay safe, and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Dear Employee,

Give thanks, not COVID-19.

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we understand this is usually a time of gatherings with friends and family. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we strongly advise against hosting or attending any gatherings with people outside of your household. We must do this to protect each other and our loved ones. The Hawaii Department of Health is seeing a significant number of new cases coming from social gatherings – even small ones with close friends and family. We understand this is a tough ask, but we all need to do our part to prevent another spike in cases.

How can you celebrate the holidays this year?
Here are some tips on how you can celebrate the holidays this year:

• Celebrate only with those in your household.
• Use digital platforms like Zoom or FaceTime to celebrate virtually.
• Cozy up with your favorite holiday foods, movies, TV shows, or games.
• If you must have a small gathering, try to do it outdoors, limit the number of people, wear face coverings, do not share serving utensils, shorten visit times, and keep everyone apart six feet.
• Avoid shopping crowds by doing your holiday shopping online. You can support local vendors on sites like Pop-up Makeke, Made in Hawaii Festival or the Buy Hawaii, Give Aloha websites. 

While the cases on the mainland are increasing at an alarming rate, we can all play an important role in reducing Hawaii’s COVID case so that businesses can remain open and our hospitals and healthcare workers don’t get overwhelmed.

This year, the best way to show aloha to our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers is by not putting them at risk of infection. Thank you for doing your part to prevent the virus from spreading in our community this holiday season.

Stay safe, be well, and Happy Thanksgiving!