How To Meet And Stay Connected With People During The COVID-19 In NYC

Since the lockdown is lifted, people are coming out of their houses, meeting, and greeting each other. For many of us, it’s the first face-to-face interaction with friends and family outside our household in weeks.

However, vaccine development still requires time which suggests that we have not come out of danger completely. The point to consider is that just because places are opening, it does not mean the virus is under control.  On the contrary, the virus is still out there in the air and is equally fatal to us.

In our pursuit to interact with people, we always run a risk of contracting diseases in the end. The situation is equally challenging for the authorities. They are forced to consider how they can continue their basic responsibilities and duties while keeping their staff and the public safe.  They have been constantly exploring ways to make the safety of their staff secure.

Be it public or the officials, interactions run a risk. Therefore, investing your time and energy in finding the right information before socializing is worth enough. Let us explore how we can meet with people in safety.

Executive Orders On The Open Meeting:

Governor Cuomo in an executive order declared the Emergency Changes to Open Meetings Laws in Response to COVID-19 on March 7, 2020. In this order, it was encouraged to allow meetings to be held remotely by conference call or via online teleconferencing software.

The relaxation in the Open Meetings Laws allowed meetings to be held remotely by conference call or via online teleconferencing software rather than physical appearances. The executive order was further extended to August 5th, 2020.

• Go Digital:

Given the contagious nature of the virus, it would have been a lot difficult for us had there not been an internet facility. Thanks to the internet, even when the world was at a halt. People were able to meet as well as conduct essential tasks.

It makes more sense as to why to run a risk when you have got alternatives and adjusting to them for a while is not a bad tradeoff. To live up to the demand, tech engineers are constantly updating and enhancing the quality of available platforms as well as innovating more.

You may use a social app to talk with people or dedicated software to meet and conduct the tasks.

Even field such as the real estate sector has adopted new ways. All the processes were shifted online and people were selecting homes on virtual tours. All the meetings were held on apps that ensure maximum safety for everyone.

Following the same lines, meeting people online is the best and safest option as long as there is no vaccine available on the market.

• Social Distancing Is The Way To Go:

Experts agreed on the argument that meeting outdoor is safer than meeting indoors where your physical presence matters. It is likely to reduce the probability of contracting the virus. In addition to it, keeping a social distance is the key to our fight against the virus. 6ft distance is generally prescribed when meeting people in the current pandemic. Though, it does not end the risk but is likely to minimize it. The virus can transmit further than 6ft but the given prescribed distance is likely to spread and disperse in the air.

This is not some random number but rather backed by extensive research that a minimum of 6ft distance reduces the risk to a considerable degree. However, it does not mean that you shall only be minding 6ft rather than take it in a relative term and if you can afford to have more distance then that is even better.

Some people are curious if they can sit close if the wind is blowing in the surrounding. It makes sense as wind is likely to disperse the virus quickly. However, keeping a respectable distance shall still be your priority since we are not done with the pandemic yet. Besides, we do not have sufficient data to back this theory and don’t know enough about how outdoor transmission behaves.

• No Physical Contact Even If Wearing A Mask:

People seem to take a careless approach when wearing a mask. While there is less risk involved when wearing a mask, still close contact is close contact. In our fight against corona, no physical contact is our best bet to stay safe.

You should not put yourself in danger even if you are less vulnerable. It is not merely for your safety but also for your immediate connections and community. There could be people in your surrounding who are more vulnerable to the virus where you might become a carrier. Therefore, as long as we do not defeat the virus thoroughly, we shall take maximum precautionary measures.

• Sanitize Yourself After The Meet Up:

If you decided to meet someone in person even if you kept your social distance. It is always better to sensitize yourself afterward. The virus is not too sticky and goes away by simply washing hands with any soap. This is a must-do exercise after every meet up, especially when you doubt you have had physical contact with someone or something for that matter.

Final Thoughts:

Though the risks and benefits of any social interaction during this period will look different for every person and some individual benefits may outnumber the risk. However, across all these choices the best and top priority shall be reducing harm and risk as much as possible.

The rule of thumb to achieve this goal is to minimize the number of contacts you have. And if you have to compromise on social distancing for any purpose, try to employ the above-mentioned guidelines to meet people. The truth is people cannot abstain from social contact forever.