Abbigeal Griggs, Staff Writer
COVID: Advice to help you remain safe and healthy during Covid 19..
During these trying times, everyone is in a panic about what to do for the holidays. Knowing they are unable to see or invite family, and unsure of the next time they will see them, there is difficulty in deciding how to make the holiday times special despite the restrictions. Though ideally, you should stay at home, if you must see family or friends, or if you are simply getting cabin fever, please make sure that you remain safe when you go out and about.
A popular Christmas time attraction in Riverside is the Mission Inn Festival of Lights. Though typically the festival attracts large crowds, it may be possible that during these times fewer people are present. If you attend the festival of lights, please ensure you are wearing a mask and social distancing. If crowds are too large to effectively maintain social distance, please attempt to avoid them. The festival should be safe as long as there are as few attendees as possible, as this will prevent crowding. You can still have funnel cakes or go get ice cream at the stalls or at the Riverside Food Lab, but be aware that they only let a certain amount of people in at a time, and you must wear a mask and maintain social distancing in order to be allowed in. An alternative to going to the festival of lights in person is sending one person to record the festival, or to call you while at the festival. This way, you reduce the number of people at the festival, and subsequently reduce the risk of the transmission of covid, as one person is easier to keep 6 feet away from than a crowd, and worst-case scenario only one person is infected.
If you wish to have guests or family over for the holidays, ensure that everyone wears a mask and be sure to set up chairs 6 to 10 feet apart, and do so outdoors so everyone isn’t bunched up. Ensure that everyone is spread out so that if someone does have Covid, there is a minimal chance of transmission. For added safety, everyone should wear gloves so when you touch a drink or a plate of food, your germs will not contaminate or spread onto the item.
The safest option by far is a zoom call. This is by far the best way to see family or friends in a safe manner that does not lead to a risk of covid spread. Zoom makes it easy to email and log on easily. There are multiple other video chat apps like Google Meets, Skype, and FaceTime on apple. In conclusion, Christmas isn’t canceled due to Covid and there are multiple opportunities to celebrate with family and friends without potentially exposing yourself to Covid. There are many safe options for everyone to be comfortable for everyone young and old. However, regardless of what you do, please ensure that you are following the restrictions and advice from the CDC (link here ) and the California Governor (Link here ). If we all work together, we can defeat this evil virus once and for all!