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Simple Tips to Stay Safe from COVID and Other AirBorne Diseases at Gatherings and Holidays

Simple Tips to Stay Safe from COVID and Other AirBorne Diseases at Gatherings and Holidays

If you're having people over to your house for a party, dinner, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or holiday gathering, you may be wondering just what you can do to reduce the transmission of diseases, in case someone (Vaccinated or not) is asymptomatic but carrying a communicable airborne disease, like COVIC.

There are some simple and effective things you can do!

Improve ventilation

Just put a 20" box fan ($20 at WalMart) in a downstairs window, blowing air in, and another fan in an upstairs window blowing air out.

You can get a 20 in by 20 in furnace filter to put on the outside of the downstairs fan to stop any dirt, pollen, dust or allergens from blowing into the house.

By doing this you are reducing any viral load in the air enormously. Of course, you can add more fans both upstairs and downstairs if your house is large. And if you have a ranch or other one-story dwelling, just do the same thing but with windows at the farthest points.

Of course you can other size fans and filters, to fit your windows best. The more powerful the fan, the better.

Whole House Fan

If you have a whole house fan, again open windows downstairs or whether the gathering is occurring, and turn on the whole house fan.

The CDC has a page of other tips

Improving ventilation is a safe, proven, reliable method to improve safety from respiratory illnesses.

Meanwhile, the CDC says (Some of their recommendations are controversial, these are the CDC's recommendations, we'll pass no judgment on their effectiveness)

 

• If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, find a vaccine.
• If you are not fully vaccinated and aged 2 or older, you should wear a mask in indoor public places.
• In general, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings. In areas with high numbers of COVID-19 cases, consider wearing a mask in crowded outdoor settings and for activities with  close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated.
• People who have a condition or are taking medications that weaken their immune system may not be fully protected even if they are fully vaccinated. They should continue to take all precautions recommended for unvaccinated people, including wearing a well-fitted mask, until advised otherwise by their healthcare provider.
• If you are fully vaccinated, to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an areaof substantial or high transmission.