The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How to have friends over and still stay safe Distance is everything
Even as states open up, having friends in the house even for a short while remains a bad idea, experts say. Getting together outside — on blankets spaced apart in a park or on the deck or front porch or lawn at your home — is the way to go. With careful planning, getting together with a limited number of friends and family members can be done.
Here are some fundamental guidelines to follow.
Stay outside
“Outside is really key,” said Lindsey Leininger, a health policy researcher and clinical professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. “We know that being indoors can be a risk factor for something going quite wrong,” even with a few guests.
And entertaining at home or in a park can be safer than outdoor dining at restaurants, because you can control who touches all the food, plates and table settings at all times and be responsible for your own distancing.
If you plan on having a larger group, get out your tape measure and make sure your chairs are at least 6 feet apart. Do not place shared tables between them. If you have an outdoor space big enough for multiple tables, space them accordingly and have only those who have been sheltering together sit together at each one. Mark each group’s space with clever floor decals or other objects. “Position planters or other markings between the tables so that the separation is clear,” said Jennifer Collins, chief executive of JDC Events, an event planning agency in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Collins’ other suggestions: There should be a bin where guests can dispose of trash so that the host doesn’t need to touch it. Guests should wear masks at all times except when dining.
On this, the experts all agreed: Bring your own food, silverware and plates — or bring paper and plastic utensils, preferably biodegradable ones to reduce waste — and drinks, including alcoholic beverages and glasses. “This should also include bringing your own condiments,” Collins said. “It would also be great to have hand sanitizer on each table.”
If you share — grill
“Chips and dip are a terrible idea,” said Leininger of the Tuck School. Ditto for any notions of making a big lasagna and letting people serve themselves.
Still, “there are gradients of risk,” she said. “Something hot off the grill poses the least of them.” If you want to provide cooked food, the best picks are grilled fish, meat or hot dogs. Have your guests pull their serving off the grill and walk away.
Don’t freak out about the bathroom
“The good news is that the bathroom, with a little bit of care, is not something you need to stress about,” Leininger said. “Send people in one at a time, have them wear a mask and wash the heck out of their hands.”
Whatever you can do as a host to promote hand washing is more important than anything else. Between each guest’s use, you might want to clean your bathroom surfaces with disinfectant, just to be safe.