The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for people to get together during the holidays and other social gatherings. Of course, no one wants to miss out on these important social events, but no one wants to get sick with COVID-19 either.
You shouldn’t have to stay home and skip these events because you’re afraid of getting sick. Instead, you can still attend these events and have a good time if you take the necessary safety precautions.
Primary Medical Care Center has created a comprehensive list of safety tips to follow when attending holiday parties and social gatherings. These tips are as follows:
Wash Your Hands
Everyone knows the importance of washing their hands. But to protect yourself from COVID-19, you need to make sure you wash and scrub your hands regularly. Make sure you pat them dry after you’re done too.
Wear Masks
Every reputable health expert in the country advises people to wear masks in public places and whenever they are close to others. Masks can prevent someone from spreading the virus if they already have it. Some evidence suggests masks can even prevent you from getting infected too.
Social Distancing
Staying at least 6 feet apart from other people is another common suggestion by health experts. You must maintain your distance from others to prevent the spread of the virus through the air. The recommended distance amount has been controversial, but the consensus is six feet in all circumstances where people are present.
Attend Online Gatherings
There is nothing wrong with socializing with friends and family online. However, if you’re not ready to take the risk of attending a social gathering or you suspect that you’re sick with COVID-19, then connect with people through the internet instead. You can contact them via text messages, video chatting, phone calls, and social media posts.
Order Gifts Online
Normally, the holidays require you to visit retail stores and shop for presents to give to your friends and family members. Although you can still do that during the pandemic, it is somewhat risky if you’re around several people in a store. It is even worse if you’re in a large shopping mall with hundreds of people walking past you. Many of these people probably won’t be masked either.
For this reason, you should consider doing all your holiday shopping online. It is so much safer and easier to order gifts on Amazon or other online stores and have them shipped to your friend or family member’s house. That way, you won’t have to shop in a physical store and risk getting sick.
Give Homemade Items
Another safe way to obtain gifts for people during the holidays is to make them yourself. If you are a crafty person, consider making ornaments, sweaters, or other small personalized items. They may not be valuable materialistically, but they will be valuable to the recipient because they’ll know you made it for them.
Outdoor Gatherings
Health experts say that outdoor gatherings are much safer than indoor gatherings because they significantly reduce the infection risk amongst guests. For instance, you could hold your holiday party or social event outside, such as in your backyard, and keep people safe. So if you are insistent on getting together with friends or family members, then at least consider an outdoor venue to reduce the risk of infection.
Zoom Party
Why not have a Zoom party with your friends and family? Depending on your Zoom plan, you can invite anywhere from 100 to 1,000 guests on a single video conference call. The free plan lets you invite up to 100 people, so that should be more than enough for a holiday party with friends and family. Then you can all talk and see each other without being in the same room.
Host a Small Party at Home
You could consider inviting a few people over to your house for the holidays. These could be your closest friends or family members who have been vaccinated or tested recently. Ask them to provide you with their negative test results or vaccination card before letting them inside. It may sound strange to do this with close relatives and friends, but they’ll understand given the circumstances of the pandemic.
Contact Us
Would you like to learn more about how to protect yourself from COVID-19 in social situations? If so, please call us at (305) 751-1500 to make an appointment with one of Primary Medical Care Center’s qualified doctors or medical specialists. We can advise you on celebrating the holidays and staying safe in the process.