The delta variant of the novel coronavirus is continuing to spread through the United States, which might change your opinion on what you can and cannot do right now. And experts are now speaking out about whether or not you should host events.
Should you host events during the delta variant?
Elizabeth Stuart, vice dean for education in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told USA Today that you can still host events — it just depends on how you do it.
- “It’s not that you can’t have a party or shouldn’t have a party, but let’s give strategies to think through how to make it as safe as possible,” she said, according to USA Today
Large gatherings might not be a good idea, especially since you don’t know everyone’s COVID-19 vaccination status. That means you could spread the coronavirus to an unvaccinated person, or an unvaccinated person could pass it onto you.
For events, it might be a good idea to keep it to close friends or family.
- “We’re all very ready to have social gatherings, and it’s important to be gathering with friends and family,” Stuart told USA Today. “I think the key things are to keep it small, you know, a couple households.”
And, Stuart told USA Today, large gatherings should have a stance on vaccination.
- “I highly encourage a message of, sort of, ‘Hey, we want everyone to be safe at our event. We’re really excited to be with everyone,’” Stuart said. “’We ask if you’re not yet vaccinated for you to consider doing so.’”
Are people canceling events?
We’re seeing some cancellations already around the world. Cities like San Antonio and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are shutting down events. Bigger cities like Beijing decided to cancel large events in August because of the spread of the delta variant, per The Wall Street Journal.
- “Prevention and control of the epidemic is currently the most important priority for the entire city of Beijing, top to bottom,” China’s official state-run Xinhua News Agency said, per The Wall Street Journal.