Your Health: Preventing spread of COVID-19 while partaking in fall activities
Health experts say be cautious, although it is safe to partake in some fall favorites.
TOLEDO, Ohio — The fall season is one of fun. From pumpkin patches to apple cider, we all have activities we look forward to doing each and every year, but this year may be just a bit different. With spread of COVID-19 still a common occurrence nationwide, there are a few important things you need to keep in mind before heading out for some fall fun.
“Especially with the surge of the Delta variant these past several months, I think anything we do right now we have to be cautious and careful because now there is more risk involved in any activity that we do now around other people than there was just two months ago,” said Doctor Joseph Khabbaza of the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Khabbaza says it’s still safe to partake in your favorite activities this fall, but be cautious, especially if it’s an event that requires many people to be concentrated in a single area.
“Maybe do a smaller type of gathering for the kids with either friends or family members in the community or neighborhood that you know vaccine status and how they view and take the pandemic from a precaution standpoint. Those become very safe when you’re doing that and the anxiety and risk associated with doing that–any of those activities — is going to be very, very low,” Dr. Khabbaza adds.
Of course, determining the safety of an activity should be done on a case-by-case basis, as one event may be of higher risk than another. Health experts say the best protection against COVID-19 is simply getting vaccinated, as you’re more likely to experience severe symptoms from the virus, if you contract it while unvaccinated.
If you’d like to get vaccinated here in Ohio, you can visit the state’s official vaccine website, gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov.
