COLUMBUS, Ohio — The sunshine can make it easy for people to forget that the world is still dealing with a pandemic.
But recent unrest over racial injustice and police brutality has led to large-scale protests and gatherings across the United States.
10TV talked with Dr. Mysheika Roberts, Columbus Health Commissioner, who explained that while they want people to practice their free speech, Columbus Public Health is also encouraging demonstrators to do so safely, she said.
“Even as we are responsibly reopening Ohio and Columbus, we still want people to protect themselves,” Dr. Roberts said. “So you should still, especially if you’re high risk or you live with someone who’s high risk, you should avoid some of these environments where you could be exposed.”
For those who are heading to the protests or other large gatherings, Dr. Roberts has a few suggestions to stay as safe as possible:
- Wear a face covering
- Practice social distancing by standing only close to those people in your small quarantine network
- Use signs to share your message, limiting time chanting or yelling, which can spread particles in the air
- Bring hand sanitizer and clean your hands before eating
- Avoid attending any events at the first sign of symptoms
“Events held outside reduce the chances of transferring the virus but that doesn’t eliminate it,” Dr. Roberts said.
After attending a protest or large gathering, Dr. Roberts suggests getting tested for COVID-19.
Because the virus isn’t immediately detected, it is recommended that anyone who attended a protest gets tested five to seven days later.
“People need to realize that, you know, a lot of young, healthy adults; their symptoms present very mild at first,” she said. “It could just be a scratchy throat or itchy ears, you know, and then within 24 hours that can escalate and then be much more severe than that.”
Testing options now vary but a clinician-administered nasal or oral swab is the gold standard, according to Dr. Roberts.
“That’s true for any test, not just COVID-19, but also for strep throat and a number of other tests,” she said.
But the CDC does also recommend the self-administered tests, with an observing clinician, as another testing option.
Find a COVID-19 testing site near you, by clicking here.