As the explosion of vaccines accelerates and infectious rates in California fall, the state begins to reopen, with indoor eateries now available in all nine San Francisco Bay Area counties and everything from movie theaters to gyms that welcome people indoors.
People who have received the vaccine can enter new ventures with the assurance that their chances of catching the virus are very low, especially if they follow public health guidelines and wear masks. (It is still unknown how easily they transmit the virus to unvaccinated people, although there is growing evidence that it is probably scarce.)
But what about the people who have not been vaccinated? Can they safely participate in indoor activities?
Although the effort of the vaccine has increased rapidly, the majority of the population has not yet received a single shot.
KCBS Radio reported Tuesday that approximately 31% of the population aged 17 and older in San Francisco have been vaccinated. In California, according to the Los Angeles Times, 21% of residents received at least one dose.
Wesley Thomas works at Fitness SF Transbay during the coronavirus outbreak in San Francisco, Tuesday, September 15, 2020.
Jeff Chiu / Associated PressFor some advice on how people who cannot be vaccinated, we can talk to experts.
Dr Monica Gandhi, an expert on infectious diseases at UCSF, said indoor activities – such as eating in a restaurant, watching a movie in a theater and exercising in a gym – are safe for individuals who are still not inoculated follow appropriate safety measures, such as masking, distancing (whether table or exercise equipment space) and the use of ventilation. Gandhi pointed to a study she co-authored with the author, which looked at a company applying these precautions and found that employees were safe during congestion.
Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s chair of the Department of Medicine, agrees that most indoor activities are safe for uninitiated people when precautionary measures are taken.
“As long as the rate stays very low (as it is now in the Bay), I will not have a problem going to a gym or theater – if I accept that it is universally masked and has a relatively low density. , “said Wachter. “In a theater I want open seats between me and strangers; in the gym I want to be at least 6 meters away from someone else. The masking is critical. If I see someone with the mask off (or not cover their nose) not), I would walk out. ‘
However, he advised against unvaccinated people going to eat indoors – “especially because masking is impossible,” Wachter said. He refers to the fact that eaters need to remove face masks to eat.
Dr Peter Chin-Hong, an expert on infectious diseases at UCSF, pointed out that restaurants offer different environments and that people who do not want to be vaccinated who want to eat indoors should seek out those with ventilation.
“One practical tip is to try to get a table near an open window, because it’s almost like being outside,” Chin-Hong said. “Like Mr. Benjamin in Hayes Valley, they have large windows of door size, so you feel like you’re indoors with fine porcelain, but you’re pretty much outside because there’s a big window.”
He added: “Not all restaurants are created equal. It’s hard to just say that all indoor eateries are safe or unsafe.”
Another indoor activity that people who have not been vaccinated can consider flying, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still discourages recreational trips.
For non-vaccinated in aircraft, Chin-Hong recommended a double mask, ‘knotted in the back so that it is tightly and tucked under your chin’.
He said air filtration in aircraft is generally good, and advised travelers to take extra precautions when traveling by public transport, whether it is a train or taxi, to and from the airport.
“Open the window,” he says, noting that you have to open windows on either side of the car to let air through. “You want an airflow through the air.”
Gandhi also said that flying is safe for travelers who did not get shots, if precaution is taken.
“Yes, it is safe for you to be on the plane only if the airline meets the general masking conditions required of airlines,” she wrote in an email. “Airplanes are fairly ventilated and the airline you choose has to remove passengers to ride. I would choose to wear a double mask in the plane and only take off the mask if you eat or drink something quickly.”
If you can not decide whether an activity is safe, Chin-Hong said that it is a good rule of thumb to determine the risk by asking three questions: 1) How common is the virus in your community? 2) What is your risk of getting COVID bad? 3) And how risky is the activity?
“Suppose you are a 75-year-old who was out of the country and has not yet been vaccinated, you would probably feel very unsafe in an indoor environment, or maybe if you were younger and had heart disease, you would think of it as a higher risk environment. is perhaps not worth it, ”Chin-Hong said.
Wachter added a final precaution for people who have not been vaccinated and who are considering indoor activities: ‘I want to keep in mind that everyone is about two months (or less) away from vaccination, so it feels like a very inconvenient time to get infected to touch while doing things. which is completely optional. ‘
San Francisco has just reopened its indoor dining room.
Patricia Chang / Special for SFGATE