California’s Governor establishes regulations for Thanksgiving festivities

Will the new rules be followed by citizens or be ignored?

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Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

With new regulations established for the holidays, will they be mandated and be followed by California citizens?

Brianna Nusom, Staff Writer

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have and what you are given, but this may be easier said than done courtesy of a new outbreak in COVID-19 cases.

California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, decided to give suggestions that he wants people to follow for this year’s celebration of Thanksgiving. 

Recommendations include restricting gatherings to no more than three households attending, the use of masks when you are not eating or drinking, as well as no singing, chanting or shouting permitted. 

While this all seems like a good idea to take these precautions, will they actually be maintained when Thanksgiving rolls around?

There is a lot of grey area with only three households attending Thanksgiving dinner. If the three households you invite only have two or three in each family, about only six people attend. While this may seem like a lot of attendees for a family gathering, it is really not. 

I already live with seven people in my household. It’s not equitable if there is a family of three that invites three households of three or less when put in the contrast of if a larger family of five or more invites families with five or more as well. 

Wearing masks when you are not eating or drinking sounds like a very good idea, but will it be regulated? 

Implementing these rules are a really good idea, but I don’t think that they will be pursued by citizens of California, even though COVID-19 cases are rising on a daily basis. 

With all of these suggestions being in place, it makes you wonder if the person who set those recommendations in the first place actually will follow them.

As it turns out, they likely will not. Newsom was spotted partying at a restaurant in Napa called French Laundry. He was celebrating the birthday of a friend with at least 12 at the gathering.

If I am not allowed to have my family over at my house for dinner, why is Newsom (the one who established the holiday rules) going out to celebrate with more than 12 people at a restaurant that are not even his family? 

He even put out an apology to the media saying that he and his wife should have done something different. He is extremely hypocritical by wanting people to stay home while he is out having dinner at an extremely expensive restaurant with so many people. In a way, it honestly shows the way he perceives his title and the way he thinks that it has over others. 

While I do really like the idea of the precautions for the holiday seasons, I don’t think they will be followed by anyone. 

My family and I are very serious about COVID-19 and the precautions that we have to take to protect ourselves and others from the virus as best as we can. However, to what point does it make it okay for the governor to go against his own restrictions? If he isn’t going to follow his regulations, then why should anyone else?