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Quick Takes: Navigating Risk and COVID-19 in California Reopenings

Here at Cal Wellness, we’ve spent some time thinking about navigating day-to-day risk in the era of COVID-19.  And now that the shelter-in-place orders are slowly being lifted in California, many of us are trying to figure out what to do to stay safe while reconnecting with friends and resuming some of the activities that we’ve been missing. For those of us who have been working remotely rather than on the frontlines, we now have more choices we must make around risk.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. We, like you, have been thinking about how the virus has impacted our lives. We’ve thought about our family situations -- including how our children, senior family members, and  loved ones with compromised immune systems are weathering this confusing moment in which we know the virus is still present, even our state reopens. So what do we do? What activities are considered high risk right now? And while we know that risk cannot be eliminated entirely, what activities carry a lower risk? To make things even more complicated, your personal risk will also depend on your age, health, and other factors. With all this in mind, we wanted to share with you some articles that we found to be especially helpful as we navigate next steps.

  1. Restaurants, camping, and vacationing are all hallmarks of summer. What are the risks of each? This article from NPR speaks with health experts to get a sense of what’s risky right now.
  2. The CDC has provided some tips for reducing your risk levels when venturing out.
  3. “It is hard for me as a public health professional…to blanketly tell someone to take all these people off the street when they are protesting against 400 years of a different pandemic that happens to not be infectious.” Learn about why some public health experts support the risk of the protests and the movement to bring about change.
  4. What does protesting during a pandemic look like? Read about minimizing the risks to yourself and those you live with.
  5. Learn about the factors to consider and discuss with others as you start broadening your social circles.
  6. Check out this chart to get a sense of what activities are safe(r) this summer.

Have any related links you’d like to share? Reach out to us at info [at] calwellness.org.

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