As the holiday season approaches, a new national survey found about half of Americans will ask their guests to wear masks during gatherings.
Researchers from Columbus-based Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center surveyed 2,042 U.S. adults between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 about their holiday celebration plans.
About half of respondents said they will ask their guests to wear masks, and nearly three-fourths said they would limit celebrations to members of their household, according to the findings released Nov. 15. Additionally, about half of respondents said they would ask guests about their vaccination status, and 46 percent will require unvaccinated guests to test negative for COVID-19 before attending a gathering.
Last year, about 67 percent of respondents said they would require masks for their guests.
"If everyone in attendance is vaccinated and are without major health risks, you can have a safe, small gathering without a lot of additional precautions," said Iahn Gonsenhauser, MD, chief quality and patient safety officer at Wexner. "Unvaccinated individuals really pose the greatest threat, and that's when it becomes necessary to put some rules and precautions in place, even though those conversations can be a little awkward."