As the summer approaches, I find myself thinking about which activities to engage in when the Shelter-In-Place is partially eased. I sorted some activities I am considering from most safe to least safe, and I’d appreciate hearing which you believe is out of place, and why. Assume shopping activities are done by one adult, but recreational activities are done by a family of four with a young child and middle-school child. Assume all activities are only done when cases are relatively low (<10 new confirmed cases a day in Santa Clara County, population ~2M). Some activities appear more than once because I alter the conditions (i.e., indoor vs outdoor, masks vs. no masks). Also, if you disagree with any assumptions in terms of what is the safest way to participate in an activity, I’d appreciate your feedback.
Activities (sorted from most safe to least safe)
1. Stay at home
2. Picnic in a nearby park bringing a blanket from home to eat on the grass. No one within 50’.
3. Have food delivered by Door Dash or Instacart. They leave the food at the door and leave.
4. Take a 40 minute walk around home. Some other walkers, usually 10’ away. About 1-2 joggers jog by 6’ away, wearing masks half the time. Wear cloth masks.
5. Picnic in a nearby park with tables spaced 20’ apart. Bring a cover from home to cover the park picnic table.
6. Get takeout from a restaurant. Cashier at the entrance and no entry required. Wear a cloth mask.
7. Get takeout at a restaurant. Restaurant requires you to stand indoors in the lobby for 10 minutes to get order. Only the cashier inside wears a mask. Wear a cloth mask.
8. Shop at an outdoor store, like a nursery, for 1 hour, while wearing a cloth mask. Customers are fairly spaced out, but occasionally pass by about 5’ away.
9. Drive to a beach staying in 1 fixed location for 2 hours on a mostly-empty weekday afternoon. Other beachers are spaced out, and are generally no closer than 30’ away, except when walking by. (But, arguably, the contact – though outdoors and distant -- is prolonged)
10. Stay at a hotel near a beach town on a weekday when a hotel is ¼-1/2 full. 1 adult checks in wearing a mask. Family members wear a cloth mask when in common areas (lobby, hallways). Use stairwells instead of elevator. Eat food in own room or out. Wipe down surfaces in room (knobs, buttons) with bleach when first arriving, and after each maid service.
11. Get short-term, exclusive use of a pool. IE, thinking of trying to convince a hotel or nearby cabana club to permit families to sign up for 40 minute exclusive use slots with 5 minutes in-between each use. Do not use any shared shower/locker room facilities. Bring towels from home for beach chairs. (Any possible fecal-mouth transmission from young children?)
12. Shop at an indoor, relatively empty specialty shop, like a comic book store, with about 5 people in a 700 square foot shop for 30 minutes. Wear cloth masks.
13. Shop for 1 hour inside a Costco store. Wait in outdoor line for 15 minutes to enter. Shoppers are generally spaced out due to metered entrance. Wait in line of only 2 people to check out. Wear gloves and a high-quality mask. (Ceilings are higher than at Target, and the entrance is always open for better circulation).
14. Shop for 1 hour inside a Target store. Wait in outdoor line for 15 minutes to enter. Shoppers are generally spaced out due to metered entrance. Wait in line of only 2 people to check out. Wear gloves and a high-quality mask. Doors open only during entrance/exit.
15. Dine in outdoor seating at a restaurant during a relatively empty weekday afternoon. Tables spaced 12’ apart. People walk within 10’ on a nearby sidewalk.
16. Invite 1 other family to dinner at our home outside on a patio. Talk for 2 hours outdoors over dinner. Have a 4’x3’ sneeze guard in the middle of the table to separate the two families. No masks.
17. Invite 1 other family to dinner to eat at our home outside on a patio. Talk for 2 hours outdoors over dinner. (No sneeze guard). No masks.
18. Meet 1 other family for dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Tables are spaced 15’ apart outdoors. Talk for 2 hours outdoors over dinner. No masks.
19. Have a short visit to a medical center, like a Sutter Health clinic. Go to lab for a blood draw/test. Wear a surgical mask the whole time. In and out in 40 minutes, due to a wait.
20. Bring whole family to shop inside a Target store for 1 hour. Everyone wears gloves and a cloth mask. We tell children to not touch their faces, to keep their masks on, and maybe they do.
21. Plan a 2 hour playdate for a child and their school mate. Kids go to a nearby park and ride bikes and talk without masks. Park is moderately full, and generally other children stay 5’ away or more.
22. Plan a 2 hour playdate for a child and their school mate. Child and parent visit our home. Kids play cards and video games together. We make sure they wash their hands beforehand and periodically, and try to get them not to touch their faces. No one wears masks.
---------- This is where I’m thinking of drawing the line for my family, and not doing anything below this
23. Attend 30 minute swim lesson in an indoor pool facility. Lessons are spaced out about 3 students per lane, so generally, people are 10’+ apart. (only concern is aerosols from people breathing hard in an indoor space all day, very limited ventilation that is never aired out).
24. Get a haircut. Invite the hairstylist to cut my and my children’s hair in my backyard. She wears a mask, and we tape surgical masks around our faces during the cut.
25. Get a haircut at an indoor salon with 10 stations 15’ apart. Wait in car for appointment, skip the shampoo and hair coloring, offer a mask to the stylist. Hair cut in 20 minutes, while taping a mask to face. Take shower at home.
26. Get a pedicure at an indoor salon with 8 stations 6’ apart. Takes 50 minutes, while wearing a surgical mask.
27. Bring the family to an indoor mall, while wearing masks. Family spend 1 hour in a video game arcade, with about 20 people in a 500 sq ft space. We bring hand sanitizer and periodically remind kids to clean their hands and not touch their faces.
28. Watch a movie in a large IMAX theatre when it is 90% empty, during the first screening of the day (so no previous crowds in the last 10 hours), sitting toward the back of the theatre.
29. Watch a movie in a large IMAX theatre when it is 50% full, during a 7pm weekday screening, sitting toward the back of the theatre.
30. Have family dine at an indoor restaurant for 1 hour while it is 50% full. No masks.
31. Have child attend a weeklong outdoor sports camp for 6 hours a day, with no more than 12 students, and the same 12 students each day.
32. Have child attend a weeklong indoor basketball camp for 6 hours a day, with no more than 12 students, and the same 12 students each day.
Activities (sorted from most safe to least safe)
1. Stay at home
2. Picnic in a nearby park bringing a blanket from home to eat on the grass. No one within 50’.
3. Have food delivered by Door Dash or Instacart. They leave the food at the door and leave.
4. Take a 40 minute walk around home. Some other walkers, usually 10’ away. About 1-2 joggers jog by 6’ away, wearing masks half the time. Wear cloth masks.
5. Picnic in a nearby park with tables spaced 20’ apart. Bring a cover from home to cover the park picnic table.
6. Get takeout from a restaurant. Cashier at the entrance and no entry required. Wear a cloth mask.
7. Get takeout at a restaurant. Restaurant requires you to stand indoors in the lobby for 10 minutes to get order. Only the cashier inside wears a mask. Wear a cloth mask.
8. Shop at an outdoor store, like a nursery, for 1 hour, while wearing a cloth mask. Customers are fairly spaced out, but occasionally pass by about 5’ away.
9. Drive to a beach staying in 1 fixed location for 2 hours on a mostly-empty weekday afternoon. Other beachers are spaced out, and are generally no closer than 30’ away, except when walking by. (But, arguably, the contact – though outdoors and distant -- is prolonged)
10. Stay at a hotel near a beach town on a weekday when a hotel is ¼-1/2 full. 1 adult checks in wearing a mask. Family members wear a cloth mask when in common areas (lobby, hallways). Use stairwells instead of elevator. Eat food in own room or out. Wipe down surfaces in room (knobs, buttons) with bleach when first arriving, and after each maid service.
11. Get short-term, exclusive use of a pool. IE, thinking of trying to convince a hotel or nearby cabana club to permit families to sign up for 40 minute exclusive use slots with 5 minutes in-between each use. Do not use any shared shower/locker room facilities. Bring towels from home for beach chairs. (Any possible fecal-mouth transmission from young children?)
12. Shop at an indoor, relatively empty specialty shop, like a comic book store, with about 5 people in a 700 square foot shop for 30 minutes. Wear cloth masks.
13. Shop for 1 hour inside a Costco store. Wait in outdoor line for 15 minutes to enter. Shoppers are generally spaced out due to metered entrance. Wait in line of only 2 people to check out. Wear gloves and a high-quality mask. (Ceilings are higher than at Target, and the entrance is always open for better circulation).
14. Shop for 1 hour inside a Target store. Wait in outdoor line for 15 minutes to enter. Shoppers are generally spaced out due to metered entrance. Wait in line of only 2 people to check out. Wear gloves and a high-quality mask. Doors open only during entrance/exit.
15. Dine in outdoor seating at a restaurant during a relatively empty weekday afternoon. Tables spaced 12’ apart. People walk within 10’ on a nearby sidewalk.
16. Invite 1 other family to dinner at our home outside on a patio. Talk for 2 hours outdoors over dinner. Have a 4’x3’ sneeze guard in the middle of the table to separate the two families. No masks.
17. Invite 1 other family to dinner to eat at our home outside on a patio. Talk for 2 hours outdoors over dinner. (No sneeze guard). No masks.
18. Meet 1 other family for dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Tables are spaced 15’ apart outdoors. Talk for 2 hours outdoors over dinner. No masks.
19. Have a short visit to a medical center, like a Sutter Health clinic. Go to lab for a blood draw/test. Wear a surgical mask the whole time. In and out in 40 minutes, due to a wait.
20. Bring whole family to shop inside a Target store for 1 hour. Everyone wears gloves and a cloth mask. We tell children to not touch their faces, to keep their masks on, and maybe they do.
21. Plan a 2 hour playdate for a child and their school mate. Kids go to a nearby park and ride bikes and talk without masks. Park is moderately full, and generally other children stay 5’ away or more.
22. Plan a 2 hour playdate for a child and their school mate. Child and parent visit our home. Kids play cards and video games together. We make sure they wash their hands beforehand and periodically, and try to get them not to touch their faces. No one wears masks.
---------- This is where I’m thinking of drawing the line for my family, and not doing anything below this
23. Attend 30 minute swim lesson in an indoor pool facility. Lessons are spaced out about 3 students per lane, so generally, people are 10’+ apart. (only concern is aerosols from people breathing hard in an indoor space all day, very limited ventilation that is never aired out).
24. Get a haircut. Invite the hairstylist to cut my and my children’s hair in my backyard. She wears a mask, and we tape surgical masks around our faces during the cut.
25. Get a haircut at an indoor salon with 10 stations 15’ apart. Wait in car for appointment, skip the shampoo and hair coloring, offer a mask to the stylist. Hair cut in 20 minutes, while taping a mask to face. Take shower at home.
26. Get a pedicure at an indoor salon with 8 stations 6’ apart. Takes 50 minutes, while wearing a surgical mask.
27. Bring the family to an indoor mall, while wearing masks. Family spend 1 hour in a video game arcade, with about 20 people in a 500 sq ft space. We bring hand sanitizer and periodically remind kids to clean their hands and not touch their faces.
28. Watch a movie in a large IMAX theatre when it is 90% empty, during the first screening of the day (so no previous crowds in the last 10 hours), sitting toward the back of the theatre.
29. Watch a movie in a large IMAX theatre when it is 50% full, during a 7pm weekday screening, sitting toward the back of the theatre.
30. Have family dine at an indoor restaurant for 1 hour while it is 50% full. No masks.
31. Have child attend a weeklong outdoor sports camp for 6 hours a day, with no more than 12 students, and the same 12 students each day.
32. Have child attend a weeklong indoor basketball camp for 6 hours a day, with no more than 12 students, and the same 12 students each day.
