San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
A That summer fun comes with a risk
Experts assess odds of COVID-19 as Texans go out and about
s Texas continues slowly reopening, it’s only natural that after being cooped up indoors for weeks and weeks, we’re all itching to get out and play.
We want to eat in restaurants. Go to a movie. Hit the beach. And with Gov. Greg Abbott’s strike force guidelines recently announcing that virtually all businesses in the state can operate at 50 percent of their maximum occupancy, we increasingly can do these things and more. But how safe are they? We asked medical experts Dr. Fred Campbell, associate professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine, and Dr. Junda Woo, medical director of the city of San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District, about the hazards of several summertime activities and what steps they recommend to mitigate those dangers.
We also relied on “COVID-19 Health Transition Team Report” compiled by the city of San Antonio and Bexar County, and “Public Health Principles for a Phased Reopening During COVID-19: Guidance for Governors,” from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Here’s what we learned.
Air travel
Overall risk: High Commercial planes reportedly have filtration systems capable of removing viruses from the air, but previous studies have shown that disease transmission still can occur in flight.
“Airlines are my No. 1 concern about transmission of the coronavirus,” Campbell said. “And that’s because there’s little you can do to protect yourself, and nothing you can do to make others take proper precautions.”
While some airlines are encouraging social distancing by limiting the number of passengers on flights and keeping middle seats empty, you’ll still be sitting close to lots of other people in a small space for a long period of time.
So other than not flying at all, about all you can do to protect yourself is wear a face mask and disinfect all hard surfaces in your seating area with antibacterial
wipes.
Beaches
Overall risk: Low
Like most outdoor activities, going to the beach is inherently less hazardous than most indoor activities. Still, Texas beaches have been very crowded, especially on weekends, since stay-at-home orders were eased.
“I think it’s a good idea to give yourself a good amount of space between you and other beachgoers,” Woo said. “And if someone starts setting up too close for you to be comfortable, I don’t think it would be out of order to ask them if they’d move further away.”
Garden centers, nurseries
Overall risk: Low to medium
While the meandering aisles of most nurseries (other than those in bigbox stores) tend to be narrow, making social distancing harder, shopping outdoors lessens the risk.
Just take proper precautions, such as wearing a face mask.
Home improvement stores
Overall risk: Medium These tend to be large, with lots of space to comfortably distance yourself from your fellow shoppers. Most stores also have added safety features, such as social distancing marks on the floors and sneeze guards around cashiers.
“Most of these retailers, as well as grocery stores, have done a good job in requiring their own people to wear masks,” Campbell said. “This creates a sort of social pressure for customers to wear masks, too.”
If you’re still uncomfortable, try curbside pickup or delivery, which most stores now offer.
Hotels
Overall risk: Medium It’s hard to know, even in a four-star hotel, who stayed in your room before you and how thoroughly it was cleaned before you checked in.
While the virus is thought to be spread more easily through the air than on surfaces, you should still air out the room when you arrive, either by opening a window or running the AC system. And pack antibacterial wipes to disinfect high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, lighting controls, faucet handles and the TV remote.
Movie theaters
Overall risk: Medium Even with occupancy caps, remote ticketing and policies that keep two seats between household groups empty, watching a movie puts you close to a large number of strangers for two hours or more. That’s two thumbs-down.
If you can’t wait for a film to make it to streaming, be sure to wear a mask, even if that means eschewing the popcorn. And try to sit as far away from others as possible to lower your risk.
Restaurants
Overall risk: Medium With restaurants now allowed to open at 75 percent capacity, it’s important that owners and managers continue to keep diners separated, use disposable menus, offer single-use condiment packages and require staff to wear face masks. Barring an infected person sneezing directly on it, there’s little evidence the coronavirus can be spread via food.
Ask about outdoor dining options, which experts say tend to be safer, and pay with a credit card — touch-free if available — instead of handling cash.
River tubing
Overall risk: Low
Plenty of microorganisms that can cause digestive and other problems if ingested live in river water. Still unknown, though, is if the coronavirus can be transmitted in water.
What is known is that the virus can be transmitted through the air, so try to stay well away from fellow tubers.
“(And) when you mix in the alcohol that most people drink when tubing, it becomes more challenging for people to stick to the rules such as social distancing,” Woo said.
Supermarkets
Overall risk: Low to medium
Like home improvement stores, most supermarkets are large enough to social distance comfortably and have sneeze guards around cashiers.
Most also offer curbside pickup for those who still feel uncomfortable.
Swimming pools
Overall risk: Low
There is no evidence that the coronavirus can be spread through pool water as long as the water is disinfected according to public health guidelines. Any virus that finds its way into the water would be so diluted as to make transmission highly unlikely.
The risk in public pools come from the oftencrowded conditions, both in and out of the water, so follow social distancing guidelines.
An even better alternative is to swim in private pools, if available, as these tend to be used by fewer people.
Water parks
Overall risk: Medium The chlorinated water in a water park should eliminate the possibility of virus transmission. Still, these parks tend to be crazy busy, usually with lots of little ones with no sense of social distancing, especially in the heat of summer.
“For now the parks must limit their capacity to 50 percent, according to the strike force guidelines,” Woo said. “But it’s still important to protect your own personal space, whether you’re in or out of the water.”