With COVID-19 cases still increasing, here’s how to celebrate the Fourth of July safely
With July Fourth around the corner and fewer restrictions on gatherings, those planning to attend festivities and parties should know how to do it safely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In Texas, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. On Thursday, the state reported a new single-day high with 5,996 new COVID-19 cases. Hospitalizations have risen nearly every day of June and have more than tripled since the 1,511 patients hospitalized on Memorial Day.
At a June 22 press conference on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers said they tracked a surge in hospitalization after holiday weekends like Easter and Memorial Day. Now, they have concerns that the 4th of July weekend could cause an increase.
“Major holidays really affected the curve quite significantly,” Dr. Mujeeb Basit, an assistant professor of internal medicine and cardiology at UT Southwestern, said on June 22. “But with July 4, that is really an unknown. July 4 is barbecue season, everybody is out grilling, everybody’s out socializing, you could have a significant increase.”
Marilyn Felkner, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s public health program, said an upside to the 4th of July is that most activities that will take place are outdoors.
But, with any gathering of people, there’s always a risk, she said.
Here are some tips to reduce the risk of COVID-19 while having a good time.
Wear a face covering at an event or in a public setting.
Social distance.
Host outdoor activities instead of indoors. Limit the time you spend inside with others.
The fewer people involved, the better.
Use hand sanitizer and disinfectants.
Felkner said recent peer-reviewed journals and studies show that wearing a mask and being 6-feet or more apart is effective in reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19.
But, if someone were to attend a parade or festival, it can be hard to maintain that distance, thus increasing the risk of spread, she said.
Diana Cervantes, director of the epidemiology program at the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, suggests having a “pandemic preparedness pack” that includes a mask, hand sanitizer, tissues and Clorox wipes.
One of the concerns with festivals and parades is that it’s hard to know where people have been, and before attending, people need to take this into consideration, Cervantes said. People might have been to places before the event and could go somewhere after the event.
“I know it’s difficult for people to think about all these things when they go out,” she said. “But, it’s just ultimately for the good of everybody in the community and the people in your immediate family.”
While at something like a cookout, Cervantes said, the host should make it possible for people to social distance outside. It would also be a good idea to set up a station with masks and hand sanitizers, she said.
And the environment should be a space of no judgment for those who want to use face coverings, she said. Some people might want to wear one at the event but wouldn’t want to run the risk of offending the host.
“Just say, ‘Hey, it’s OK if you want to wear that here. We won’t get our feelings hurt’,” Cervantes said.
While there aren’t any more official restrictions on 10 or more people gathering, Felkner said limiting the size of an event to that number helps because if someone were to get infected from a group of 10, it’s easier to remember who those people are and have them quarantine.
Cervantes said before going out, people need to remember that the state is seeing sustained transmission. It isn’t sporadic.
“Those prevention measures are even more important to always have in the forefront of our mind,” she said.
Now that the country has been living with the virus for some time, Felkner said there’s a better understanding of what guidelines and protocols work.
“[They’re] some pretty simple rules that are inconvenient, but they’re not difficult to follow,” she said.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
