By Emily Prinstein

Due to the Pandemic holiday’s this year are being spent much differently than most years. (Photo courtesy of Forbes)

Holiday season has arrived and with that means colder weather and usually more time spent with family and friends. However, due to the pandemic, this year’s holidays have to be spent differently. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been over 16 million COVID cases in the United States alone, with 1.7 million of those cases being from California. 

A surge in cases took place after Thanksgiving due to traveling and cases are expected to surge once again after Christmas. This large spike in cases is alarming due to the high death toll that COVID has brought on.

To help try and limit the spread of the virus, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a new stay at home order for counties that are approaching hospital capacity. In a news conference, Gavin Newsom stated that  “if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed. If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see our death rate climb, more lives lost.” 

Because of this new stay at home order, families are being asked to limit their holiday gatherings to those who they live with and avoid traveling at all costs. Many people do not agree with the governor’s new order and do not want to follow the new guidelines that have been put in place. On the other hand, the amount of COVID cases continues to skyrocket and new daily records of cases are constantly being reached. 

To keep yourself and others safe it is important to keep practicing social distancing even during the holiday season. There are new and alternative ways to spend time with family during the holidays such as facetime, Zoom, and other convenient platforms. 

This holiday season may be different from the rest but that does not mean it is not going to be one to remember. Memories can still be made from home and new traditions can be born from the celebrations this year. Overall, the holiday season is a time to celebrate but also a time to keep others wellbeing in mind by staying home and wearing your mask.