NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In the fight against COVID-19, the number of cases is down significantly from that of last year, and most folks are looking forward to getting back to sharing the holidays with family and friends.

New Orleans City Health Director, Dr. Jennifer Avegno, has guided the city’s response to COVID-19 from some of the highest numbers in the country to some of the lowest. But, in order to remain safe this holiday season, she says we have to keep doing what we’ve been doing.

“We do have more mitigation measures in place and tools this year than we did last year, so I’m hopeful that that will make our holidays feel a little more normal if we are sticking to them,” Avegno explained.

Those mitigation measures have included vaccines and distancing, but Dr. Avegno says her family is also taking an additional step to protect themselves when they gather around the table.

“We’re also going to do a home test before Thanksgiving Day — everybody coming to dinner,” Avegno added. “Because we know there are going to be some guests there who maybe aren’t vaccinated yet, but we want everybody to know their status walking into grandma’s house.”

The holidays also include shopping and Dr. Avegno gave a shoutout to shop locally and safely, but she encourages us to not put away the maks if you have to venture out into the malls or big box stores.

“I’m continuing to mask in any indoor public space where I don’t know the status of the folks who are right around me,” said Avegno.