How to Navigate Your Community Reopening? Remember the Four C’s

Close contact, confined spaces, crowds, choices — these are the considerations to ponder now.

When the country was largely under lockdown, at least the rules were mostly clear. Essential workers ventured out; everyone else sheltered in. Bars and restaurants were closed except for dining out; hair salons and spas were shuttered. Outings were limited to the supermarket or the drugstore.

Now states are lifting restrictions, but detailed guidance about navigating the minutiae of everyday life is still hard to come by — and anyway, there’s never going to be a ready solution to every problematic circumstance you may encounter.

“Ramping down was easy by comparison, even though it felt hard at the time — we basically flipped a switch,” said Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious disease expert who is chief health officer for the University of Michigan.

“Reopening is much more complicated. There is no template, no playbook. We can’t just say, ‘Follow these 10 rules, and you’re good.’”

Even in the absence of detailed directives, however, there’s scientific consensus about a general approach that can reduce the spread of the virus as the world around you reopens. As you tiptoe toward normalization — whatever that is, given these times — try to follow three precautions: avoid contact, confinement and crowds. And make realistic choices. Read More