If You Plan to Be Social for Labor Day Weekend, Here's How to Lower Your Risk of Covid-19 Infection

Labor Day weekend is one of the biggest social gathering holidays in the US, which poses added risk to most celebrations when they coincide with a pandemic. But that doesn't mean you have to stay indoors, either.

In fact, getting outdoors, taking a hike or long bike ride, finding an uncrowded swimming hole or even gardening are safe ways to celebrate a holiday that honors how much we work by taking a break from it.

If you must gather, here are some of the safest ways to do so, according to epidemiologist Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, and other experts.... Read More

This week has been the deadliest of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Since last Sunday 66 people have died from the virus. Friday "marked the fourth consecutive day where the number of new cases exceeded 800."

Among the factors that have been identified as having contributed to the infection rate in the Commonwealth, in addition to the refusal of a segment of the state's population to comply with the public health measures that state and local authorities have implemented to protect Kentuckians and out-of-state visitors, has been small gatherings of friends and family such as barbecues, birthday parties, and the like particularly on weekends.

In my county the local state university, when it reopened for the fall semester, implemented a number of strict measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection to students, faculty, staff, and the larger community. The university has so far not experienced the large number of new COVID-19 cases that other universities have experienced.

The county, however, continues to see a steady increase in the number of new cases. This can be attributed to a number of factors--the chief of which is that one segment of the population refuses to acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic and refuses to comply with the state and local public health measures such as face-masks, social distancing, self-quarantine, and avoidance of unnecessary travel.

During a trip to the grocery store two weeks ago a young man who was not wearing a face mask brushed by me in one of the aisles. I only go to the store during the special shopping hours that the store provides for older people and those with pre-existing conditions.

This week I came across a store employee not wearing her face mask properly and a woman representative of one of the companies that supplies the store stocking shelves and chatting with store employees while wearing no face mask. This was also during the special shopping hours that the store provides for customers like myself.

It does not do much good to offer these hours and post a sign at the store entrance stating that the store is complying with the governor's executive order to wear face masks, if people are allowed in the store without face masks. Allowing them in the store defeats the whole purpose of the special shopping hours.