Tips for creating a social pod this winter

Everyone involved also needs to be prepared to isolate and be symptom-free for two weeks before you begin to get together indoors. Then, everyone must follow the guidelines from the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Wear masks in public and any time you're around people who aren't part of your pod, stay at least 6 feet away from others, avoid crowds

and wash your hands often. You may want to establish that you'll create a pod for two or three weeks, then evaluate how it's going. WHEN IN DOUBT, KEEP IT SMALL While there's

no fixed number of how many people make this kind of social group safe, the smaller the pod, the lower the risk. Start with one other household, then see if you want to add another. Going

beyond 8 people starts to be too big to realistically keep contagion risks low, experts say. Remember that you must consider everyone in your household part of the pod — even members who

don't actively socialize. If you live with your elderly mother, for example, she's taking on the same risks as everyone in the pod, even if she never leaves your house.

"Instead of collections of people, think of pods as being different collections of bubbles,” says Katona. If you're in a bubble with your husband, your mother and your teenage

daughter, you can't separate that group, he notes. WHAT IF THE BUBBLE BURSTS? "Anytime someone doesn't follow the safety protocols agreed upon by the pod, the pod is no longer

safe,” says Glatt. For example, if the group vowed not to go inside anyone else's house and someone ducks into a neighbor's, even when masked and only for a few minutes, they need

to come clean. One person's behavior impacts the health of everyone else on the “quaranteam." If someone does stray from the guidelines, not all is necessarily lost. “Have that

person take a two-week break and if they remain asymptomatic and agree to follow the pod rules from then on, welcome them back,” suggests Glatt. Or, if you decide the group isn't right

for you, that's OK too. Explain to your pod members that you've decided to isolate yourself until you can socialize without worry. “I like to think that marriage is for life, but

pods are not,” Glatt adds. Finally, if anyone in your pod feels sick or tests positive for the virus, the entire pod needs to follow CDC guidelines. Stay home and away from others for 14

days after your last contact with the person who's sick, and watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath or other symptoms.