Precautions To Take During Your Summer Gatherings

Beautiful weather and months of isolation drives people to meet friends outdoors

Some helpful suggestions if you plan to do so this weekend

1. Plan contact-free and spacious activities.
Plan contactless games for your gathering such as Bingo, Pictionary, and Antakshari. Or just hangout outdoors with chairs maintaining social distance. Put on some music with your phones or portable speakers! If those games aren't quite your speed, you could always plan to hang out around an outdoor fire pit once the sun starts to go down, suggests Patch.com. This is a great way to practice social distancing and spread your chairs out. And don't forget to bring out the portable speaker and blast some good party tunes.

2. Make sure you and your guests to wear masks, stay six feet apart and clean their hands

Some of the guides that many health professionals suggest:

• Space your chairs and tables 6 feet apart.
• Seat individuals from different households at separate tables.
• Sanitize hands and surfaces.
• Wear cloth face coverings.
• Refrain from sharing objects.

Make sure to distribute some extra bottles of hand sanitizer throughout your party setup, and keep some facemasks on hand in case anyone forgets theirs.

3. Make sure to have small gatherings
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's considerations for events and gatherings during the COVID-19 crisis, the size of an event or gathering should be determined based on specific state laws and legislation. Make sure to inform your guests that no one attends unless they've been healthy and symptom-free for 14 days prior to the date of the party.

4. Use your outdoor grill/barbecue to dish out individual portions
Grilling is the perfect way to serve your guests delicious food while still keeping your distance and ensuring that no germs are spread on the food. Or you can distribute pre-cooked individual boxes to each guest where they can heat up before eating. Make sure you cook with clean hands and a mask, which is very very important.

4. Ask your guests to bring their own drinks and disposable dinnerware
Self-brought drinks will avoid a lot of stress to the host and will cut down on extra precautions that need to be taken while serving drinks. Using disposable plates, napkins, cups and silverware will help protect yourself and your guests from unnecessary germs or cross-contamination. Once guests are done using their dinnerware, they can easily toss it in a garbage can for an easy cleanup without spreading germs.