The holiday season looks a lot different this year. We all want to be with the people we love and celebrate our favorite traditions, but we must take into serious account the reality: that COVID-19 is still with us. Since Thanksgiving, we’ve seen significant spikes in coronavirus cases and hospital admissions, both in Boston and across Massachusetts, on a daily basis.
To protect our families, our workplaces, our communities, and our City’s capacity to care for those who are sick, we must stay focused. That is why the City recently took proactive action to limit in-person activity and slow the spread of the virus. And we need everyone’s help in our efforts. We strongly discourage travel during the holiday season, and urge you to spend the holidays only with members of your current household.
If you may have COVID-19, are not feeling well, or have been exposed to the virus, you should stay home and not host or participate in any in-person gatherings. If you are at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, such as older adults or those with certain medical conditions, you should also not take part in any in-person gatherings.
Everyone can make the holidays safer this year
Remember, celebrating at home with people you live with is the safest option this year. If you are planning on gathering with family outside your household or traveling, we urge extreme caution. Getting tested does not protect you from infection. It will still be a higher risk activity, and we ask that you refrain from engaging in this activity.
Are you planning to travel?
As a reminder, we strongly advise against traveling for the holidays, which may increase your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Airports, bus stations, train stations, public transport, gas stations, and rest stops are all places travelers can be exposed to the virus in the air and on surfaces. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year.
If you must travel:
- Avoid close contact with others. Stay six feet apart (two arms-length) from anyone who does not live in your household.
- Wear a face mask or cloth face covering. Massachusetts requires people to wear a mask or face covering in all public places, whether indoors or outdoors, even where they are able to maintain six feet of distance from others.
- Avoid touching your mask, eyes, nose and mouth.
- Get a flu shot before traveling. In addition to COVID-19, travel and gatherings can contribute to the spread of other infectious diseases such as the flu.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, and have alcohol-based hand sanitizer handy for when soap and water is not available.
- Know what the Massachusetts travel order means for when you return to Boston.
- Get tested when you return home. Testing is widely available in the City of Boston. Find a testing site near you.
- Reduce non-essential activities for a full week after returning home or for 10 days if not tested afterward.
Safe alternatives for celebrating the holidays
Looking for safer, alternative, or virtual ways to celebrate the holidays? The safest celebrations are with people from your household, or ones held outdoors that allow for safety measures. Instead of gathering with extended family and friends in person, consider making these connections virtually.
Residents are also encouraged to take in the holiday lights around the City from a safe distance.
Boston Common Tree: Dusk to dawn, until January 7, 2021
Boston Common and Public Garden Lights: Dusk to dawn, until the end of January 2021
Waterfront Park Trellis: Dusk to dawn, until Patriot’s Day, 2021
Copley Square Tree: Dusk to dawn, until January 7, 2021
Neighborhood trees: Dusk to dawn, until January 7, 2021
- Mattapan Square, Mattapan
- Wolcott Square, Readville
- Hastings Street Lot, Centre Street, West Roxbury
- Codman Square, Dorchester
- Hyde Square, Jamaica Plain
- J.P. Monument, Jamaica Plain
- Brigham Circle, Mission Hill
- Bolling Building, Roxbury
- Blackstone Square, South End
- Oak Square, Brighton
- M Street Park, South Boston
- Essex Street/ Harrison Avenue, Chinatown
- Paul Revere Mall, North End
- Thompson Square, Charlestown
- Maverick Square, East Boston
- Adams Village, Dorchester
Planning on hosting or attending gatherings?
Health officials advise against hosting holiday parties and gatherings. If you do host or attend a gathering, take the following steps to make it safer:
- Keep it small and limit the number of guests. In Boston, indoor gatherings at private residences should be 10 people or less.
- Wash your hands often, especially before eating, drinking or handling food.
- Ask guests to wear a mask unless eating and drinking and stay six feet apart at all times. Wearing a face mask or cloth face covering is required by State order in all public places, whether indoors or outdoors.
- When eating or drinking, have a safe place to store your mask.
- Avoid direct contact – that means hugs and handshakes – with anyone not from your household.
- Host outdoor rather than indoor gatherings, if possible. In Boston, outdoor gatherings at private residences should be 25 people or less. Remember even when outside, people are still required by State order to wear masks when not eating or drinking.
- Avoid holding gatherings in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces with persons who are not in your household.
- Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors to the fullest extent (if it is safe based on the weather). Place central air and heating on continuous circulation.
- Avoid singing or shouting, especially indoors. Keep music levels down so people don’t have to shout or speak loudly to be heard.
- If hosting an event, provide extra masks, hand sanitizer and wipes to clean surfaces. Stock bathrooms with plenty of hand soap and single use towels.
- Frequently clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and any shared items between use.
- Plan ahead. Ask guests to avoid contact with people outside of their households for 14 days before the gathering.
Food and drinks at small holiday gatherings
- Do not share food, drink, or any utensils.
- Encourage guests to bring food and drinks for themselves and for members of their own household
- Avoid potluck-style or buffet gatherings
- If sharing food, have one person (wearing a face mask and gloves) serve food and use single-use options, like salad dressing and condiment packets, and disposable items like food containers, plates, and utensils.
- Ask guests to avoid going in and out of areas where food is being prepared and handled, like the kitchen.
- Ask everyone to wash their hands with soap and water before and after handling or eating food.
- Offer no-touch trash cans for guests to easily throw away food items.
- Wash dishes in the dishwasher or with hot soapy water immediately following the gathering
- Change and launder linen items immediately following the event (seating covers, tablecloths, cloth napkins, etc.).
The more of these prevention measures that are put in place, the safer the gathering will be. No one measure is enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Again, the safest way to spend the holidays is with only the people in your current household.
Holiday shopping?
Take steps to stay safe:
- Always wear a face covering in public.
- Stay six feet apart from others.
- Avoid crowds and crowded places.
- Bring an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and wash your hands often.
Consider alternative, safer options:
- Shop online.
- Use contactless services, like curbside pick-up.
- Shop in open air markets, staying six feet away from others and wearing a mask.
As a way to support Boston’s small businesses during the holiday season, the City is also providing two hours of free parking at all metered spaces, each Saturday through the end of the year. While payment at meters will not be required on these Saturdays, the time limit on the meters will be in effect to allow as many customers as possible a chance to take advantage of this opportunity. Additionally, free 90-day Bluebikes passes are still available for employees in retail shops and restaurants in Boston.
Get the COVID-19 test!
As you would whenever you participate in any kind of gathering, consider getting tested for COVID-19. The City of Boston partners with community health centers, hospitals, and pharmacies to increase access to COVID-19 testing for Boston residents.
As a reminder, we have over 30 testing sites across the City, as well as three mobile testing sites currently at the Washington Park Mall in Roxbury, the Anna M. Cole Community Center in Jamaica Plain, and the Boston Renaissance Charter School. These rotating mobile sites offer free COVID-19 testing to everyone, regardless of symptoms. Find a site near you.
You can read more about holiday guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For more information on Boston’s response to COVID-19, please visit our COVID-19 website.
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