CDC classifies in-store Black Friday shopping as 'higher-risk'

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants shoppers to avoid crowded stores on Black Friday.

The CDC released guidance with regards to preventing the spread of COVID-19 during the upcoming holidays, starting with Halloween. It includes, among other things, a recommendation that shopping be done online rather than in person on the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) or the next Monday (Cyber Monday). 

The report describes going shopping in crowded stores just before, on, or after Thanksgiving as “higher risk” activities. Traditional trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treat (where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots) are also classified as higher-risk.

To read the CDC holiday guidelines, click here.