Tag: pandemic

May 10, 2020.

Dr. Yvette Lu, MD, B.Sc, CCFP, FCFP.

WE ARE OPENING UP SOON.

This week, we had the happy news that we are opening up again soon. We will be opening up in phases, with caution, and with physical distancing measures and handwashing recommendations remaining in place.

A lot of people have been anxious and confused about how much to open up and what this means. Is it really safe? Does this mean I can see my friends? Does this mean that I can have house parties? Must I wear a mask?

The reason why public health has not given a lot of specific rules about opening up is because everyone and every business has a different situation. Opening up will require thoughtful creativity.

CAN I SEE MY FRIENDS?

One of the things that will be okay to do in the next phase will be to expand our social circle or social bubble of people we can see in person instead of online. How much you expand it depends on your level of risk and the risk level of people you are in close contact with. For example, if you have a chronic illness that puts you at risk of having a severe COVID-19 infection, you may not want to expand your social bubble at all. If you don’t have an illness but you live with elderly parents or with someone who is immunosuppressed, similarly, you may not want to expand your bubble.

When you choose who you want to include in your bubble, I’d advise you to talk to them about their risk level and who they are in contact with. Are they sending their kids to school? Are they going to be seeing a lot of other families on play dates? If you are adding people to your bubble who have a lot of contacts themselves, then you will have a higher risk of becoming infected with COVID-19. Remember, every person they are in contact with becomes someone who can spread the infection to you.

If you are expanding your bubble, I recommend that you proceed with caution. You will have to make choices. If your child wants to see their best friend on a play date, then perhaps it might be better to stay physically distanced from grandma and grandpa. If your child has eight best friends, it might be best to just choose one or maybe two families to be close with for now. Every family will make different choices based on their acceptable level of risk. We have seen super spreaders of the novel coronavirus, and we know that if someone is meeting up with a lot of different people and going to a lot of places, it is possible for a single person to spread the virus to many people, so please be careful and thoughtful.

CAN I HAVE A HOUSE PARTY?

The rules in BC are that there should be no gatherings greater then fifty people. Other jurisdictions have similar rules. This does not mean that you can have a house party with forty-nine people. Your gatherings will be with the families and people that you have chosen to be part of your social bubble. Additionally, it might be best to meet with one family at a time, as opposed to multiple families at once to reduce the chance of spread. You also don’t want to be meeting with different groups of people each night. Select a small group of people to be part of your bubble and leave it at that for now.

The novel coronavirus spreads best when people are in close and prolonged contact, so when you are thinking about meeting up with people, you need to think about both who you are meeting up with and where. Meeting outdoors is best, as the wind and the light disrupts the ability of the virus to spread effectively. If there are people you want to see, but can’t include them in your social bubble, you could consider having a physically distanced meeting outdoors. There is some risk to this as children can be hard to keep apart from each other. Also, I find we are misjudging the distance of two meters, and it can be easy to unintentionally find ourselves closer than two meters. Once again, you will be the best judge if that is an acceptable level of risk.

HOW WILL BUSINESSES WORK?

Public health has left it up to individual businesses and business associations to creatively figure out what would be the best way for them to follow safety guidelines of physical distancing. I think this is wise as they are not experts in how individual businesses are run and what modifications they can make.

Some ideas include things we have already seen like:

• adding physical barriers to keep people apart
• putting markers on the ground to remind people where to stand and walk
• moving payment and ordering online to minimize human contact
• having hand sanitizer on hand for customers
• increased cleaning of common areas
• spraying down payment machines between customers
• limiting the amount of people in the stores
• requiring masks in situations when people will be close together (less than 2 meters apart)
• limiting the amount of time people will be close together
• supporting staff to stay home if they feel at all sick or have respiratory symptoms
• putting aside items that people have tried on at clothing stores, so others don’t try them on right away

If you’re a business, ask yourself:

• What can I do to limit and minimize the amount of in person time with my customers?
• When they are in my location of business, what can I do physically (like barriers) to keep physically distanced?
• What rules or protocols can I implement to help keep people physically distanced?

DO I NEED TO WEAR A MASK?

Masks work best when people are in close and prolonged contact. Masks may help prevent asymptomatic people from spreading the virus to others. As we open up, we may be in situations when we have to be in close contact, like at the hair salon. If you’re going to be closer than two meters to someone else for a prolonged period of time (more than 15-30 minutes), it would be best to wear a face mask or covering.

Watch my video on masks for more information:

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Also check out my new video on what to expect this summer with regard to physical distancing, events and sports events:

I know it’s been a challenging few months for a lot of people. We have done so well and we need to continue to be patient and careful. For opening up to work, it will require us all to be thoughtful and responsible. We must think about our risk level and the risk level of our loved ones. We must stay home when we are sick. We must wash our hands.

People have asked me if it’s okay to share my posts. Yes, please feel free to share them. Information helps alleviate fear and anxiety, and that’s why I take the time to write these.

Be Kind. Be Calm. Be Safe.

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Featured image: Balcony Concerts. “I would like through this illustration to show solidarity, generosity, creativity between people even with social distancing. We are all together and we are all support and take care of everyone !” Image created by Catherine Cordasco. Submitted for United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives – help stop the spread of COVID-1.

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This post is also on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157621161998305

Previous COVID-19 Updates:

April 18, 2020: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157537040363305

April 07, 2020: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157501704518305

March 27, 2020: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157464504278305

March 22, 2020: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157442986918305

March 17, 2020: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157427491688305

March 14, 2020: https://www.facebook.com/yvette.lu/posts/10157418003548305