The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment advised Coloradans on Thursday to only celebrate upcoming holidays with their household to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Going into the holiday season, Colorado is facing its highest infection rates yet with 1 in 40 currently contagious with COVID-19, according to CDPHE.

“It’s important to think about the best ways to keep our loved ones and communities safe during our celebrations,” the announcement said. “This year is an opportunity to reimagine what togetherness can look like.”

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CDPHE offered three guidelines for holiday celebrations:

• Refrain from traveling
• Avoid crowded stores
• Only interact in-person with people you live with

Instead, CDPHE suggests Coloradans celebrate holidays virtually with people they don’t live with and shop online or using curbside pick up to buy gifts.

Officials remind Coloradans that a negative COVID-19 test does not mean it is safe to gather. Tests are not 100% accurate and can be collected too early to detect the virus. Also, one can contract the virus between a test and a gathering.

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The CDPHE recommends anyone believed to be exposed to COVID-19 to get tested around seven days after exposure or immediately if experiencing symptoms.

Symptoms can appear two to 14 days after exposure and include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, headache, sore throat and loss of taste or smell.

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COVID-19 community testing sites can be found online at covidtest.colorado.gov/map.

Ideas for pandemic-safe holiday celebrations are available at covid19.colorado.gov/winter-holiday-tips.