Reopening Indoor Gatherings And Community Events

Restrictions helped to slow COVID infections. As well as, to keep community safe. A lot has changed since March 2020. Some cities/states have fewer cases. Other places are doing well managing their cases. States with controlled cases are lifting some of their restrictions. States are resuming and reopening indoor gatherings and community events. However, public health officials recommend against indoor gatherings. Specifically, gatherings filled to capacity. Why? Large gatherings contribute to rising number of COVID cases. Also, you can’t social distance in these environments.

Should communities go back to normal? Should things be shut down until COVID goes away? It’s definitely food for thought. The truth is, there’s no right answer. In fact, communities should use their own discretion when it comes to reopening for indoor gatherings. This means cancelling or limiting the numbers for attendance. Why? So that COVID safety precautions can be implemented.

However, we can’t cancel all indoor gatherings or community events. That is, some events are too important to cancel. What kind of events? A number of them. But, the main community event is voting. As a result, states have worked hard to make voting safe this year. Each states has their own guidelines. 

• Have different voting options, such as in-person, early voting, and absentee mail-in ballots
• Protect poll workers by using protective barriers
• Give voters masks and sanitizer
• Offer early voting times or extend voting times
• Offer curb-side voting
• Make sure that ventilation systems work in the polling places
• Limit the number of people that can enter at a time
• Clean and disinfect surfaces
• Increase the distance between voting booths 
• Limit the number of shared items by having single-use pens
• Relocate polling locations to protect at-risk people
• Recruit poll workers from less vulnerable populations
• Change voting locations if there’s an outbreak