Consider avoiding travel or in-person gatherings for the holidays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we head into the holiday season, many people find themselves struggling to align with the COVID-19 precautions against traveling and seeing people from outside your immediate household, precautions which many cities and states have also put in place. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends refraining from traveling to see loved ones but some may choose to defy these recommendations and take the risk. Recently, Erik Polan, DO ‘07, assistant professor, internal medicine, spoke with 6ABC news to discuss the steps people should take to mitigate their risk of spreading the virus when they return home.
“Keeping in contact with the individuals that you spent the holiday with and minimizing your exposure after the holiday is important. Particularly for the week after,” shared Dr. Polan. He also shared that people who may not have traveled to see family and friends, but did see individuals outside of their immediate household should monitor themselves for symptoms and limit their exposure. Also, if you do find out you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, get tested immediately and begin a 14-day quarantine.
The CDC has laid out clear guidelines for the upcoming holiday season and PCOM has encouraged all students, faculty and staff to be safe this holiday season. In a message to the community, Jay Feldstein, DO ‘87, president and CEO, shared:
“Consider avoiding travel or in-person gatherings for the holidays. The virus often spreads when people gather from outside their household—and the more people who gather, the greater risk of viral transmission. If you do travel, consider the prevalence of the virus in the community you are visiting and whether attendees will take safety seriously and/or self-quarantine in advance. Assess your risk of exposing others and whether others are immunocompromised or are older adults. Consider adopting virtual ways to participate in cherished rituals during this unprecedented time.”
As COVID-19 continues to infect people across the United States (over 1 million cases in the last week). PCOM has taken countless precautions to limit community exposure to the virus. Such precautions include moving classes online, limiting on-campus personnel to those deemed essential and utilizing the Campus Clear app for symptom tracking and contact tracing.
View PCOM's latest information and resources during the COVID-19 outbreak.
For the past 125 years, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
Daniel McCunney
Associate Director, News and Media Relations
Email: danielmc1@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6304 | Cell:
267-449-1360
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