It’s safe to go outside. But keep your distance.
That’s the message from Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill. As the weather warms up, and kids have energy to spare, the great outdoors can be a safe and healthy place to be, as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
Keeping people active and avoiding the poor health outcomes a sedentary lifestyle can cause, is a priority for public health, he noted. But activities need to be tailored to the immediate concerns of COVID-19.
“We need to follow guidelines, but we need to be reasonable about it,” he said. “We need to do it in ways that respect the guidelines.”
Those guidelines include not congregating, not being within two metres of others, washing hands, not touching our faces and staying isolated and indoors if feeling unwell. Creating a “circle of separation,” is also essential. That means only engaging in group activities with people you already share a home with, said Gemmill.
That would knock out all group sports and team events. But there’s still plenty that can be done, such as family walks, or going for a bike ride, he said. If done in partnership with social distancing and careful hand hygiene, these activities can still stop the spread of COVID-19.
“You don’t need to be inside all the time,” he said. “But that is one way to guarantee [the prevention of spread].”
The exception are people in quarantine. Those who have returned from outside the region, have been in contact with someone who is sick or are sick themselves, are required to stay home at all times, until their quarantine is over, he said. They should have groceries and supplies delivered, and avoid all contact with other people.
He noted that our region is lucky – we boast one of the highest testing rates in Ontario, and also one of the lowest rates of positives.
“Don’t let your guard down. It doesn’t mean it’s not coming,” said Gemmill. “We can see it’s not going away on a provincial and national level.”
