With coronavirus cases on the rise, what precautions should you take at gatherings?

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. The number of infections in at least eight U.S. states increased by more than 50 percent compared to the previous week. Parts of New York City have entered the “high” COVID-19 community level, according to the CENTERS for Disease Control and Prevention. The US surge appears to be driven by the new ba.2.12.1 variant, a branch of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.

In this case, what can we do to protect ourselves from the party we have to attend?

There are three main types of prevention – vaccines, testing, and masks.

Vaccines and booster doses are good at preventing serious diseases. They can also reduce the chance of infection.

A quick home test before the party can also reduce the risk. These tests measure your infectivity at that point in time and should therefore be conducted as close to the party as possible. A negative test result from three days ago only means that you didn’t have enough COVID-19 to take the test at that time. If everyone took a negative test before getting together, that would also reduce the risk.

These new variants are so contagious that cloth masks are not enough. You really should wear a high-quality breathing mask, such as an N95, KN95, or KF94. Make sure the mask fits properly. Adults who cannot tolerate such masks or children who are too young to wear them should wear a minimum of 3 layers of surgical masks. I think as the CDC recommends, everyone must consider wearing masks in high-risk Settings, such as crowded airports and train stations. This reduces your chances of getting infected in these environments and then having to miss graduation or other activities that are valuable to you.

At this point in the pandemic, it’s unrealistic to tell people to avoid parties. But we can help people understand and weigh their own risks, and take precautions during and after events to reduce the risk to themselves and others around them.