You May Be Able To Have A Barbecue This Summer, But It Will Take Some Planning And Precautions

As summer approaches and the weather gets warmer, you might be wondering how many of your typical activities can go on as planned right now given the COVID-19 pandemic. Though outdoor activities are generally safer than indoor ones, anything where you come in direct contact with other people will generally drive the risk of infection up. So while you may feel OK about going for a bike ride or running on an empty trail, how about our favorite summer pastime: barbecues? Delish.com consulted an expert to see when and if you can fire up the grill with peace of mind this summer.

First off, when and if you should host others can depend on many factors.

As with dining out at restaurants, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to whether or not you can host or attend a barbecue or any other gathering. There is no task that is without risk and you need to be aware of the risks your activities pose. That said, you can and should make a decision about attending these types of events based on factors like your location, your age, your health status and your general comfort level, said Dr. Julie Swann, the department head and Allison Distinguished Professor of the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State University. People over 60 or those with weakened immune systems, for example, should take extra caution.

You should also keep an eye on the coronavirus infection rate near you and listen to local and state guidelines before planning a gathering. Those in higher risk areas or those seeing a spike should avoid gathering, as should those caring for or living with someone who is high risk. Also, consider this your reminder that if you are feeling sick you should not be going out in public right now.

Keep the group small.

If all that has been considered and you still want to host or attend a barbecue, make sure the group is small. Again, this will depend on a lot of different factors, but Dr. Swann said the size of the group can really make a difference. “The exposure that you have is also the number of people,” she said. “Having a social [gathering] with two other people or four other people is different than having a social [gathering] with 10 or 20 other people.” It can also be tough when you factor children into the mix. Obviously, they need socialization too, but it’s hard to keep kids apart from each other and they can also be carriers for the virus. All things to make sure you consider when planning.

Keep it outside.

No matter what, you should not have an indoor gathering. As much as you can, keep things outside. That means if you do plan on providing food and drinks (more on that in a minute) it should all be outside, seating should all be outside, and if possible, have people walk directly to your yard without going through the house first. On this note, Dr. Swann said that you need to have a plan for if it rains: Cancel your event or have everyone leave if they’re already there. Do not bring things indoors. Obviously things can get complicated when you host guests, because they’ll need to use the restroom, but in this instance you should designate one bathroom for guests to use and door knobs and high-touch surfaces should be wiped down often.

Have a plan.

This will not be like your typical barbecue, so you should go in understanding that and arm yourself with a plan so that people have as few touch-points and interactions as possible. Set up chairs so they’re six feet apart. People from different families should not be sitting close together. Keep hand sanitizer around and encourage people to wear masks and to bring a clean container to put them in when they’re eating. Dr. Swann advised following the lead of some well-run restaurants you might be seeing right now and observe the precautions they’re taking:

I went in to [a restaurant] to pick up take-out recently, and there were no shared condiments, there was sanitizer at the front, the tables were marked where you were allowed to sit and where you weren’t allowed to sit, there was a single line, they don’t allow too many people into the restaurant at one time. In summary? “Try to follow what the best-run business establishments are doing.”

Make a strict and strategic menu.

Yes, this means you probably have to ditch things like veggies with ranch dip right now. Try and avoid putting out things that require people to handle them over and over, like chips, shared condiments, bags of buns, and more. “You want to be careful about the food, especially if you have some sort of shared buffet or shared food services,” Dr. Swann said: “You want to try and reduce how many people are breathing over the food or putting their hands and fingers all over the serving utensils, so when possible if you can have one person do all the serving then that might be one strategy.”

You can also have a system where people pick up a plate of food rather than serve themselves, but you should make sure that person and the person cooking your food aren’t feeling ill.  While it’s important to note that the FDA does not currently believe coronavirus can be spread through food, it’s better to be safe than sorry. As far as drinks, come around in one sweep and pour drinks into peoples’ glasses for them. It might be a good time for people to BYOB and stick to their own stuff if possible. If not, make sure you find a way for everyone to know which drink is theirs.

Accept that things will probably feel a little strange.

Go in to the experience knowing that you can’t really do the things that feel most natural to you, like hugging your friends hello or goodbye or bringing the host a gift of a snack for everyone to share. It’s natural to want to break off into smaller groups and talk privately or share a sip of a drink, but it’s important to remember guidelines are in place to keep your loved ones and yourself safe. “There is a tendency for people to not stay that far apart from each other,” Dr. Swann said. “They have a desire to hug their friends they haven’t seen in a while, to go talk quietly in a corner. We do know that close contact is more likely to lead to disease transmission.”

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