Summer Activities and COVID-19: What You Need to Know
In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, many of us have been sheltering in place or under quarantine for quite some time. The urge to get out and do something now that summer is well underway can feel almost overwhelming. So, now that things are starting to reopen and the world is beginning to resume normal activity, how can you stay safe while out and about? If you’re considering some summer activities, here’s what you should know about the risks so you can stay safe and healthy while still having a little bit of summer fun!
The Real Risks
The truth is that right now, the possibility of a completely risk-free outing simply does not exist. Your personal risk is extremely reliant on your health and your age, the precautions you take, and how widespread the virus happens to be in your specific geographic area. However, there are ways that you can mitigate your risk so long as you take a few important factors into account.
Mitigating Your Risk
Most infectious disease experts and healthcare professionals note that you can consider the transmission of COVID-19 in terms of four important factors: time, space, people, and place. Consider your activities according to these guidelines to help lower your risk of contracting the disease. The more time you spend around infected people, the higher your risk of infection, and the same goes for closeness in space. Additionally, your risk of infection goes up in conjunction with the number of people you interact with daily. Place is a factor in your risk because indoor spaces increase that risk, while outdoor spaces carry a much lower risk.
Most experts recommend that you choose outdoor spaces over indoor spaces, interact with as few people as possible, keep social distancing measures in place when you do, and limit the time you spend in close quarters with people. That means that quick tasks like running into the grocery store for a few things (especially while masked and socially distancing) carry relatively low risk, while sitting down inside a restaurant for a long meal can be significantly riskier.
Dining out
Heading out for dinner at a restaurant is still considered one of the riskiest activities you can engage in right now. The trouble comes with the time involved; even if the restaurant you visit is practicing social distancing inside, the issue is that most people linger over their meals when they are visiting a restaurant. That lengthy amount of time significantly increases the exposure and risk of contracting the disease for everyone inside the restaurant. Just one infected individual could potentially put the entire restaurant at risk under the right circumstances. If you must frequent your favorite restaurant, stick with takeout or ask to be seated outdoors. An outdoor environment will help to minimize your risk of contracting the virus.
Hitting the Beach or Lounging Poolside
The good news is that most experts believe that spending time at the beach or beside the pool (outdoors) carries a lower transmission risk. Your best bet here is to determine if you can safely maintain 6 feet of distance between your family and others. The water by itself does not carry a high risk of transmission since the volume of water will serve to dilute the virus.
Beaches in general are less risky than pools, simply due to the larger amount of space. This allows you to spread out and maintain a larger distance between yourself and other families on the beach.
Heading out to Go Camping
As far as summer activities go, camping is widely regarded as the safest activity you can engage in. It’s outdoors, and you are generally isolated from other people.
Your main concerns should be focused on the other campers you are heading to the campground with. Have they all been following recommended guidelines? If you’re not sure, there’s always a possibility that they could be asymptomatic carriers, putting you and your family at risk of contracting the virus. Your safest course of action is to limit your trip to close family or friends you know you can trust.
Another factor is where you choose to go camping. If you’re headed out to an isolated area with just your family and a few friends, your risk is quite low. However, if you choose to head to a crowded campground, know that you increase your risk substantially with the more people you end up interacting with. Safe camping would involve just a few people in an outdoor, isolated area.
Stay Alert and Cautious
There are certainly some summer activities you can engage in with relative safety during this pandemic. Just be sure to approach every activity with caution, stick to the outdoors when you can, and continue to follow recommended guidelines.