 This is Watika Smith, Safety Compliance Manager with the Safety and Risk Management Department for the City of Columbia. This is your safety message for the City of Columbia employees and for the public. I'm here to discuss with you today a message for the holiday season. This year, holiday season will be celebrated differently due to COVID-19. With that being said, always remember, keep in mind of your health and safety for the holiday season. Take care of your loved ones and always make sure they are healthy and safe so you can enjoy it in a special way. At this special time, we will also let you know that H. Demetrius Rump with the City of Columbia, Director of Safety and Risk Management, will bring to you special greetings and special measures, but especially he will bring you safety tips for the holiday season. Hello, this is Demetrius Rump, the Director of Safety and Risk Management for the City of Columbia. This is your monthly safety message for the City of Columbia employees and the public. As Watika Smith, our Safety Compliance Manager, stated earlier, today I will be talking about holiday safety for each and every one. This holiday season may look a little different for everyone just due to the fact of the coronavirus and all the effects it's had on our community and the nation. It's okay to participate, but as long as you're gathering with small gatherings, indoors or outdoors, I recommend that you do that just in order to protect yourself. Also, if you decide to travel, make sure your car, your vehicle is in a good running condition. Make sure you pack an emergency kit because you never know. When you're decorating during this holiday season, ensure that you use a tree that has a fire retarded and do not put that tree near a fireplace just due to the fact that it may catch fire. When you're decorating and using lights, make sure you use indoor lights for the indoors, outdoor lights for the outdoors. And when you get ready to go to bed at night, make sure your lights are turned off because you don't want to have excessive electricity going to those lights and with your family and you sleep. During this time of the year, we like to give. Unfortunately, the hospital ends up with a lot of children in the hospital due to toys that were too small that if they swallowed. So if you're in the gift giving, make sure when you provide toys to children that they don't have any small parts that they can either swallow or hurt themselves. Fire starters, if you're going to burn candles during this season, make sure those candles are properly secure and they're not easily to knock over. And if you're going to burn your fireplace, if feasible, make sure you have a fire screen in front of that fireplace to block sparks and potential splinters. And last but not least, it is still the coronavirus outbreak. I know we're all concerned about this going globally, but you know, we have to do our part. Even though the vaccine is being delivered, is being distributed, and is also being administered all across the United States, we still have to do our part. With this highly contagious virus, we have to treat it as a marathon and not a sprint. Approximately 16 million people in the United States have contracted this daily virus. In South Carolina, approximately 200,000 people have contracted the virus. Also in South Carolina, over 4,000 people have died from this contagious virus. So I recommend that you follow the three W's. Wear your face mask or face covering when you are out and about in order to protect yourself and others. Wash your hands with warm soap and water or either hand sanitizer that contains 6% alcohol. Watch your distance. What I mean by that, maintain social distance at least six feet. And the last one is the letter D. Make sure you disinfect. Disinfect all high touch areas such as your light switches, your desktops, countertops, handrails, and anything that is being frequently touched by a lot of bodies. I thank you all so much for all you have done in the year 2020. So you remember this is a team effort. It's not about us. It's about all of us. So we can come back together potentially in 2021. Remember, safety starts with an S, but it begins with you. Thank you.