Over 7 months since schools were closed in March, many of us are wanting to ease back into a closer to normal life in a way that is safe. While leaving your home increases the chance of contracting and/or spreading COVID-19, there are some low-risk activities that you can take place in that can improve your mental and physical health amid the pandemic!
The first rule is that you must always wear a mask. The simple act of wearing a mask cuts the risk of you contracting the virus by 65% and staying 6 or more feet from people not in your household cuts the risk by 90% according to the University of California Davis. If you are to participate in any of these pandemic safe activities, you need to wear a mask and social distance for them to be safe. Notice that all of the following activities are outdoors. This is on purpose due to the fact that the virus’ spread is severely slowed when you are outside.
One of the best things you can do during the pandemic is outdoor exercise. This includes running, walking, biking, hiking, and any other exercise that can be done 6 feet apart. Since quarantine has started I have taken up road biking. It is great exercise and is really fun! If you are looking for a good workout I recommend Tunnel Road, Hiller Drive, Grizzly Peak Boulevard, and really any road with an incline! If you are looking for more of a relaxing ride I recommend the San Francisco Bay Trail. It extends all the way around the Bay but you can take it from the Bay Bridge to Point Richmond with very little incline and with a very nice breeze and view! Another exercise option is hiking. The East Bay has great hiking trails including Joaquin Miller Park, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, and all the rest of the East Bay Regional Parks.
Another activity I recommend is a socially distanced picnic. You can get takeout and support a local small business or pack food from home and enjoy a meal with a friend or two in a park! As long as you wear masks whenever you are not eating and stay 6 feet away from each other, a picnic is a relatively low-risk activity in which you can see the friends that you have missed since March!
Another low-risk activity you could take up is golfing! Golfing is low-risk because it is outdoors, distanced, and there is no exchange of a ball like in other sports. In golf, you can have your own golf clubs and golf balls and there is no need to have any contact with your friends. Many people think golf is boring to watch and I agree with you. However, in the past month I have taken up golf and it is substantially more fun to play than it is to watch!
Overall, there are many low-risk activities the students of Oakland Technical High School can participate in that can improve their mental and physical health in our current situation. We all just need to put the safety of ourselves and others first and always remember to social distance and wear our masks!