DES MOINES, Iowa -- Polk County's Public Health Department thinks it might be a good idea to put off making those Thanksgiving plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Especially with us being inside, the colder weather, flu season is right around the corner. It's really good time for us to think about what we're going to do" says County Public Health Public Information Officer Nola Aigner-Davis.
She says they have real concern about what large holiday gatherings could do to further the spread of not only COVID-19, but also the seasonal flu.
"The less amount of people you're around for an extended period of time, the better off you are. Just because you trust your relatives and your friends, we don't know where they've been. They've easily been in contact with someone who has COVID-19" Aigner-Davis says.
She says they're trying to do everything they can to avoid hospitals being flooded with people sick with COVID-19, the flu, or both.
"You can get COVID and flu at the same time. We really want to make sure people are getting their flu shots so our hospital system can take care of the most vulnerable people who need to be in the hospital" Aigner-Davis says.