Most of us have summer fun on our minds right now. At the same time, you might be worried about social distancing, so it’s hard to know exactly what kind of summer plans are safe to make. In a recent article by NPR, experts discussed things you might do over the summer and ranked them on a scale from low to high risk. Here are some things you can actually do this summer without too much worry.
1) Hosting a backyard BBQ
According to the article, a backyard BBQ with one other household is low to medium risk. To keep that risk as low as possible, make that party as small as you can and continue to social distance while others are at your house. As long as you’re cleaning surfaces regularly, washing your hands, you’re not sharing food or touching other people’s plates or utensils, and you keep the gathering outdoors, the risk should be low.
2) Hanging out at the beach
As long as you keep your distance from other people, the beach is a pretty safe place to hang out. If you get to the beach and it feels crowded, you should plan for another day. Luckily, if you live here in Idaho, there are a lot of options for bodies of water to visit. Oh, also, maybe try and avoid major holidays when those areas tend to be most populated.
3) Staying at a cabin
Much like throwing a BBQ, going for a vacay in the woods is low risk as long as you’re not bringing in multiple people from many different households. Keep the number of people staying low, preferably only people from your household or possibly one other and get out and enjoy that mountain air!
4) Going camping
Camping has everything you could want in a safe summer activity, the fresh outdoors, not many people around, wide open spaces. If you’re planning on going with a small group, your risk is low. Especially if you’re going with people you’ve been isolated with, you have little to worry about.
5) Exercising outside
Going for a walk, hiking, riding your bike, or doing yoga in the middle of a park—all of these things are totally fine. But, you guessed it, be conscious of where you are in relation to other people. Other than that, as long as you’re staying away from others, you’re good to go.
5 ½) Getting good at frisbee
With all of these wide open spaces, you’ll have plenty of time to get really good at your favorite summertime sports, like frisbee.
It’s very important to remember that low risk does not mean zero risk. The best thing you can do to keep safe is continuing to social distance, wearing a mask when you’re out and around others, and avoiding groups of people as much as possible.