Tips to stay safe at BBQ style garden gatherings
As social activity steps up outdoors, it’s important to keep safety in mind. Outdoor experts have compiled some top tips on how to keep fresh air gatherings as safe as possible.
Current rules mean friends and family who live apart can meet outdoors in groups of up to six.
Mixing households during a pandemic comes with risks, so anyone planning a garden gathering should be well organised.
To stay safe at barbecues and similar events during the pandemic, keep the following in mind:
Have a strategic menu. Hosts should avoid sharing food items between households and guests.
The easiest way to do this is by asking guests to bring their own drinks and picnic food. Set up a few cool boxes around the garden for guests to store cold drinks and food. Hosts dead set on getting the BBQ out for communal use should serve food straight off the heat to each household’s table separately.
Limit the number of guests.
Legally, people can only gather outside in groups of six or as two households. It is important to keep risks low, which means selecting a few guests and not allowing them to bring plus ones. Different households are likely to take varying levels of risk, so it is worth discussing with potential guests where they have been, to see if you are comfortable with the number of people they have been in contact with.
Stay apart from each other.
To keep guests spaced out, the host should set up seating ahead of their arrival. Give each household separate tables and place seats two metres apart. Put them in a variety of places, including in the shade and best sun spots. Hosts should also consider providing alcoholbased hand sanitiser, and disinfectant wipes.
Stay mindful during time spent with others.
Before hosting a BBQ, it is important to remember that things are still not back to normal. You can’t do a lot of
things that feel natural, like hugging your friends, sharing a sip of a drink, or breaking off into smaller groups to talk privately. It is important to remember that guidelines are in place to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Get contact information from everyone attending.
It would be odd to invite people to the first BBQ after restrictions ease without knowing how to contact them, but it is super important to have an up-to-date list of attendees’ details. To be extra safe, reach out to guests before the event and tell them if they are feeling ill, to please stay home.
Set up social distancing reminders or barriers.
It will be easy to slip back into pre-pandemic habits after a chat with mates and a few drinks. Use tables as physical barriers and set up social-distancing reminders two metres apart on the
ground so that guests can easily see the safe distance. It is also still worth wearing masks and a visor.
While the BBQ will primarily be taking place outside, guests will inevitably need to venture indoors to use the bathroom. Clearly mark out where the toilets are, and consider putting signs on doors. It is also worth having disposable paper towels, so guests aren’t sharing a hand towel.
Chris Bonnett from GardeningExpress.co.uk said: “Nothing says British summertime better than a BBQ in a back yard.
“During the pandemic, outdoor activities are generally safer than indoor ones. Any activity where you come in direct contact with other people, will generally drive the risk of infection up, so it is best to be as alert as possible and take safety precautions.”