Planning To Celebrate The 4th? What To Know About The Risks Of Parties And Bars
Wanting to get together with friends and family to celebrate this holiday weekend but nervous about the coronavirus?
With new infections climbing in most states, infectious disease experts discourage group get-togethers, especially one that involves drinking. Bottom line: Watch out for parties or bars.
These settings tend to lead to a breakdown of the very behaviors that help prevent new infections. It's a dangerous mix: socializing in large groups, sometimes in tight spaces and drinking, which lowers inhibitions and makes it less likely they'll follow pandemic precautions like wearing masks and practicing good hygiene. Plus party-goers end up talking loudly, which only increases the chance of spraying virus-laden particles on other guests, especially indoors.
"It's really hard to wear a mask in a bar. It's hard to stay six feet apart. It's hard to constantly wash your hands and not touch surfaces other people have touched," says , a professor at Harvard University's T.
