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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We have 10 minutes left in the show. Let's do a snap call in this Omicron BA.2 moment. What you're going to do for your Easter Passover, or Ramadan gatherings this weekend. 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. Like my local library, will you be taking the temperature literally of your guests, or is your place of worship holding in-person services, or not? Anybody doing a hybrid in-person in Zoom Seder? 212-433-WNYC.
We just had word during the show this morning that the federal government is extending the mask mandate for public transit by a few weeks because Omicron BA.2 is still circulating, but what are you going to do for Easter? What are you going to do for Passover? What are you going to do for your Ramadan evening feasts this weekend when all three converge? I know Ramadan is the whole month, so this is going on to some degree on a daily basis, but what are you doing for in-person virtual or you're just done with that? Are you doing some hybrid?
One of our guests yesterday said there are those in the public health community said, "We're at the point where even though Omicron is still circulating and cases are not falling. Most of us have protection from serious disease, either through vaccination or prior infection, or we have access to treatments now like the antiviral." Did you decide, it is time this year to gather in a way that you didn't for either of the last two, or are you still doing some form of distance as a precaution for Easter, for Passover, for Ramadan right now? 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. We'll take your calls right after this.
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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. All right, how COVID precautious are you going to be? Are you going to ask your guests to pre-test themselves before coming in, or still doing a lot on Zoom or whatever at your Passover gathering, your Easter gathering, your Ramadan evening feast? 212-433-WNYC. Let's start with Marilyn in Mamaroneck, you're on WNYC. Hi, Marilyn.
Marilyn: Hi, Brian. Love your show. I just put my chicken soup on the stove. It's cooking. I'm about to start my [unintelligible 00:02:58]. We are having a Friday night Seder. I have seven other family members coming. We are all testing Friday morning. Everyone is vaccinated, some of us have one or two boosters. Assuming we're all negative, we're going to have Seder Friday night.
Brian Lehrer: You're going to do testing and only if you're all negative. Now, don't boil that chicken soup for the next two days, you'll boil it all off.
Marilyn: Oh, don't worry. I'm all set.
Brian Lehrer: Thank you for calling in. I appreciate it. Steve in West Orange, you're on WNYC. Hi, Steve.
Steve: Good morning, Brian. We are having the 73rd [unintelligible 00:03:41] family Seder. Three-quarters of a century almost. This time, it's in Lexington, Massachusetts. We'll be gathering from all across the country, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Long Island, and the New York, New Jersey area, which is where it all started with my father and his brother.
Brian Lehrer: They came to this country 73 years ago. Is that why pent that number to it?
Steve: No, they were third-generation actually. They were all born in the States but they began this family tradition and my father and his brother and their wives. Since then it's just grown with all the kids and nieces and nephews and cousins, and we always pick up a few stragglers along the way as well.
Brian Lehrer: What did you do last year or in 2020, and how are you handling the COVID this year?
Steve: The last two years I made a four-page version of the Seder that we could do on Zoom rather than sitting and eating all over the camera. I made a short version of the Haggadah. This year, I'm going back to the 17-page version that we put together for 2017 or 2018. We're testing before we go up to Lexington, Mass, but I don't know if we're going to be doing anything more than that.
Brian Lehrer: You're all also testing. Steve, I'm going to go and get some other people on in our short amount of remaining time. Congratulations on your 73rd family gathering. Steven in Harlem, you're on WNYC. Hi, Steven.
Steven: Thank you for taking my call, Brian. Sunday I'll be at Easter Sunday dinner. I don't know, we're just a nuclear family accepting the risk. I am fully vaccinated, boosted. I'm a nurse. I take good care, but I'm accepting the risk. I have family members that just from the beginning a bunch of anti-vaxxers, you name it. They've had COVID, they think they're probably safe now because they have that immunity. I tried to bring up-- I have another sister who thinks that comes from out of space, that whole thing. It's just been pretty insane.
Brian Lehrer: Will your anti-vaxxer relatives test if you ask them to?
Steven: They'll probably laugh at me. I gave them testing kits, and stuff like that, but I seriously doubt if they take them seriously. Previously I've come in and wore a mask and eaten in the other room, and things like that. I don't think I'll be doing that this time at Thanksgiving dinner. I eat at the table with my girlfriend. It's a risk and everything.
Brian Lehrer: By the way, what's on your Easter dinner plate on Sunday? Do you know?
Steven: They'll have turkey even though I'm off the meat. At my sister's, I still eat some animal product, but I still eat fish and eggs when I'm off the red meats pretty much completely.
Brian Lehrer: I think I know people like vegetarian except for Thanksgiving. In your case, maybe Easter. Stephen, thank you very much. Sarah and Sleepy Hollow, you're on WNYC. Hi, Sarah.
Sarah: Hi, Brian. Thanks for taking my call. I'm a big fan. I'm a church singer. I'm a professional singer, and I sing at the church of the Ascension in the Village. This is the first Holy Week that we've all been singing in person since 2019 because the lockdown happened right before Holy Week in 2020. We will be all together singing the whole week.
Brian Lehrer: The choral singing was such a thing at the beginning as this is super spreader activity.
Sarah: It's huge. Totally. We are doing singing fully masked, the congregation will be fully masked and we're testing every night before we come in. It's interesting. Pardon a vulgar expression but it's sort of a dry hump to stay with all the masked, but it's still a wonderful feeling to finally be back together.
Brian Lehrer: I didn't think it was going to end on that kind of reference. [chuckles] Thank you very much for calling in. Happy Easter. Happy Easter and Passover, and Ramadan to everybody will talk about it again in some form or another before the weekend.
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