As colleges hold in-person or hybrid classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, students are left wondering how their social life will be affected. One of the most notable factors of attending a university is meeting people and hanging out with friends. With social distancing guidelines in place, large events such as football games and rallies have been canceled or postponed.
What does this mean when it comes to getting together with your friends and classmates, though? There are still some ways that you can safely hang out with your friends and even have them over to your off-campus apartment. Keep reading to learn how you can stay safe and healthy while still maintaining a social life.
Wash Your Hands Frequently
One of the greatest deterrents for the virus is simply washing your hands. A quick rubbing of your hands with some hand sanitizer and any presence of the virus will be killed! When you have people over to your off-campus apartment, ask them to wash their hands when they first come in and before they eat. Have plenty of hand sanitizer and soap stocked up for you and your guests to use.
Utilize Outdoor Spaces
If your apartment has a balcony, backyard, or rooftop terrace, utilize that space as often as possible when you have people over. There is less risk of transmitting the virus in an outdoor space than in a confined indoor space. Take advantage of the nice weather, especially during the fall semester, and hang outdoors.
This is even an opportunity to get creative and decorate your outdoor space with some string lights, plants, and comfortable patio seating so your guests feel cozy and welcomed.
Only Use One or Two Rooms
When you do have people over to your off-campus apartment, only allow them in certain areas and rooms. Rather than having them in every single room, limiting it to just the kitchen and living area will contain any spread of contagious germs. This also means you have less to clean and sanitize after your guests leave. If someone is contagious or asymptomatic, you don’t want them to spread those germs throughout your apartment!
Create a Bubble
Being isolated is not easy. We are born to socialize and be with our family and friends. We can still do this while abiding by social distancing guidelines. Many people have created “bubbles” with their friends and family. This means they limit the number of people that they interact with and have a core group of people with whom they get together.
For example, you have a group of ten very close friends. You all decide that you are all going to limit seeing any other friends outside of that ten unless absolutely necessary. Of course, you can see other people but at a 6-foot distance and while wearing a mask. But the ten friends that you have chosen to be in your bubble would not have to wear a mask when they come over because you’ve been around each other.
Sanitize the Apartment
When your guests leave, it’s always a good idea to wipe down commonly touched surfaces with a disinfectant. This could be Clorox wipes or a simple kitchen counter spray. You’ll thank yourself for having your guests confined to a certain space in the apartment so you don’t have to wipe down as many places as if they had free rein in your apartment.
Limit How Many People Come Over
If you have roommates, talk to them and make a list of people who can come into the apartment. It’s important to know who you have come in contact with just in case someone contracts the virus and must notify people they have been around to stop the spread of it. Before deciding to have people over, this is an important conversation to have with your roommates. Some may not be comfortable having people over at all! While it’s a new era that we must navigate right now, it’s important to be as informed as possible and communicate with the people we live with.
Safely Have People at Your Apartment
While it’s near impossible to be alone and isolated while at school there are some ways that you can have people over your off-campus apartment safely. Firstly, always adhere to your state and school’s social distancing guidelines. Secondly, always ask your guests to wash their hands and to avoid coming over if they are feeling ill or have been around someone who has been sick. Sanitize your apartment when your guests leave and use outdoor spaces as much as possible. To see your friends without worrying about spreading the virus too much, create a bubble so you only see a handful of your friends instead of many different people.
Remember, this won’t last forever. But in the meantime, we all need to do our part to flatten the curve and keep our neighbors safe.
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