How safe are summer activities with fewer COVID restrictions? Advice from Fresno doctors

Ready to have fun this summer but worried about how safe it is for you or your loved ones with coronavirus restrictions loosened?

Doctors suggest if you or your children aren’t vaccinated, you might want to reconsider certain summer activities as well as wear a mask to reduce the risk of catching the potentially deadly COVID-19.

And if you are fully vaccinated but your children are not, doctors say to make smart and cautious choices and evaluate what’s worth the risk.

Because though you are protected thanks to the COVID-19 vaccination, your children who aren’t vaccinated could still be exposed to the dangers of the coronavirus.

“We’ve entered a different era of the pandemic where there are less regulations and more recommendations,” said Dr. John Zweifler, Public Health Physician with the Fresno County Department of Public Health. “It’s up to each of us to make smart, good decisions.

“Because the reality is COVID is still here. It is real. It’s not fake news. It’s still a contagious virus that can be spread through respiratory droplets.”

Here’s a look at the COVID-19 risk levels of doing five popular summer activities — based on information from local doctors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), which is a community of more than 12,000 physicians, scientists and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases.

Swimming at public pool

Risk level: low to medium

Until the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to children (no vaccine has been authorized yet for children under the age of 12), young kids, as well as adults who aren’t vaccinated, run the risk of catching and spreading the coronavirus.

Swimming in a public pool isn’t a high-risk activity of catching COVID-19, but the risks increases when packed with people at indoor swimming facilities, doctors say.

“It all depends on how crowded it is and how close people are to each other,” said Dr. Anneli von Reinhart, an emergency medicine physician in Fresno and a faculty member in the UCSF Fresno Department of Emergency Medicine. “If you’re outside and it’s just a couple of people splashing around, that’s low risk. And in highly chlorinated water, a virus won’t thrive in a place like that.

“But in a pool, like you might see in Las Vegas where lots people are standing right next to each other, that’s a higher risk for those not vaccinated.”

Going to a casino

Risk level: medium to high

With about half of the U.S. population vaccinated, including 43.6% of Fresno County residents who’ve received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, there’s essentially a 1 in 2 chance you could be sitting next to someone who’s not vaccinated.

Then, it’s a matter of whether or not that unvaccinated person has the coronavirus.

In a casino, where fellow gamblers typically sit close to each other while indoors, doctors believe the risk level of potentially catching COVID-19 could be high for those not vaccinated.

Especially with many casinos opting to make wearing masks optional.

“I think places like casinos where there are a lot of people in a small area, and people often aren’t wearing masks, there’s a lot of drinking and smoking and eating, I think that’s a pretty high-risk situation,” von Reinhart said. “I would not go there if I wasn’t vaccinated.”

Air travel

Risk level: medium

While going on a cruise is considered high risk, flying on a plane isn’t deemed as risky.

And perhaps that’s because most airlines are still requiring passengers to wear masks on the plane and while in airports.

The CDC, meanwhile, states that whether or not someone is vaccinated, the person still is required to wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth when on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation, and while indoors at transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Travelers aren’t required to mask up at outdoor areas.

“It goes back to being indoors and in congested areas, and that’s the situation you’re in when flying,” Zweifler said. “Anytime you’re close to someone’s breath, they could potentially get you sick.

“I think it’s important to wear a mask in those situations.”

The CDC recommends that folks avoid large crowds and to stay at least 6 feet away from anyone who is not traveling with you.

Staying in a hotel

Risk level: low

What’s a summer without staying overnight somewhere like in a hotel?

And the chance of catching COVID just from staying at a hotel is considered a minimal risk, according to IDSA.

“Initially when the pandemic first started, there was concerns about that,” Zweifler said of staying overnight in a hotel, motel or an AirBnb. “But the more we’ve learned about the virus, there’s been less emphasis about that nowadays.

“Remember, that the virus is a respiratory virus that’s spread through respiratory transmission. It’s not so much related to contact or touching surfaces. ... Hotels in general are safe.”

Attend an indoor show like a comedian act or concert

Risk level: high

Imagine a sold-out indoor theater with the entire audience laughing as a comedian tells jokes on stage.

Now picture half of that audience not being vaccinated and not wearing masks, but nonetheless laughing and talking all while respiratory droplets spread in every direction.

Maybe no one in the audience has COVID-19 and it’s not a big deal.

Or maybe some in the audience do have the coronavirus.

“That’s a setup for a possible super spreader event,” von Reinhart said. “If you’re going to an event like that with a naked face and you haven’t been vaccinated, you’re inviting danger.”

General rule of thumb

Generally speaking, outside activities are almost always safer to do than indoor activities in this pandemic time, doctors said.

Being around fewer people reduces the risks, too, of getting exposed to the virus.

And whenever in indoor or crowded settings, masking up is the doctor’s recommendation.

Fresno doctors von Reinhart and Zweifler also emphasized that the best way to have fun but remain protected is by getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

And while vaccinations aren’t 100% protection, they do significantly reduce the chances of one contracting COVID-19 or becoming seriously ill even if you did somehow get the virus, the doctors said.

“If you’re vaccinated, it’s more about making good choices, such as the issue of when to wear a mask and when not to wear a mask,’ von Reinhart said.

Yet some concerns remain for those who’ve received the vaccine, including whether a vaccinated person could still get COVID-19 and somehow pass it onto their child.

“In most settings, if you’re vaccinated, you’re going to be fine,” Zweifler said. “If it’s really crowded and you’re vaccinated, just be careful. The virus is still out there and there are other variants.”

Added von Reinhart: “The data looks like vaccinated people aren’t likely to get the virus. But if they do, it’s very unlikely that they’d spread the virus.

“When you’re planning what to do this summer, just try to think it through and weigh the risks.”