With the COVID-19 pandemic winding down in most parts of Ohio, nightlife for Ohio State students in Columbus should be back to near normal for spring and summer (unless unforeseen circumstances arise). However, that doesn’t mean that Buckeye students wanting a few beers and socializing at a North High Street bar or nightclub shouldn’t continue to exercise caution. Until herd immunity has been achieved, a risk of infection and transmission may still exist, even for those who have been fully vaccinate.
The good news is that the federal Centers for Disease and Prevention in late April updated its recommendations for those who are vaccinated against COVID-19, allowing for more situations where masks can be left in your pocket, especially in outdoor situations such as dining or drinking or walking, jogging or cycling. (Go to the CDC website for the most updated information on changes in recommendations for safe practices during the pandemic.)
The best advice, of course, remains that when you have a choice between whether 1) to mingle with dozens of strangers in an indoor environment for several hours, or 2) party in your off-campus apartment or rental house with several friends who you know are safe, the second option always makes the most sense.
Yet, college students are college students, and one of the consuming joys of single young-adulthood is making friends (or more) of attractive strangers of the preferred gender. That’s not likely to happen in the living room of your Columbus off-campus housing.
So if you do choose to go out to one of the many nightclubs and bars that punctuate the stretch of North High Street near campus, follow some basic precautions. (Whether you’re fully vaccinated, of course, will affect how free you can be with yourself and others. However, it pays to be careful whether you’ve had those shots or not.)
Tips for Bar/Restaurant Behavior as COVID Winds Down
• First of all, acknowledge to yourself that you are taking a risk by spending time indoors at a bar or restaurant. Then if you feel like you want to take that risk, commit to lowering that risk as much as possible. (While people who are fully vaccinated from the coronavirus have very low risk of becoming seriously ill, the jury remains out on the risk of low-grade infection and potential transmission to others. That’s why the CDC advises that even vaccinated folks follow basic safety guidelines.)
• Indoors at the bar, wear an effective face covering when you’re not actively drinking or eating (which admittedly isn’t much of the time for the typical Buckeye enjoying a night on the town). Outdoors, as mentioned, the CDC has liberalized its recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks. (Be aware that these guidelines are subject to change, either looser or tighter, depending on what happens with the pandemic in the future, but we’re all hoping for continued liberalization.)
• If you have a choice of eating or drinking indoors or outdoors, the latter is always safer. Check the CDC’s list of tips.
• Avoid loud conversations with strangers inside the bar. Droplets of coronavirus spread more easily when a person is talking loudly or laughing.
• When possible, stay six feet away from people whom you don’t know. Yes, this will be impossible in a crowded bar, which is why masks are so important.
• Avoid becoming trashed while at the bar, since as we all know, getting loaded will impair your judgment, and next thing you know, you’ll be slobbering all over that attractive stranger.
• If you have a choice of drinking establishments or restaurants to patronize, choose places where precautions have been taken against the spread of the coronavirus. These include online menus, tables separated from one another, no bar service, mask requirements when not eating or drinking, employees wearing masks, and more. In most cases, a bar or restaurant’s social media page or website will let you know if they take COVID-19 safety precautions seriously.
• If a tent is set up outside, consider it the same as indoors unless at least one side is rolled up or open.
More Tips for Avoiding COVID While Dining/Drinking
• Avoid the busy periods at a bar or restaurant for obvious reasons.
• Don’t forget to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after eating, and after you leave the bar or restaurant. Avoid touching surfaces as much as possible. (While recent research suggests that coronavirus infection is minimal off surfaces, it can happen, especially if an infected person just sneezed on that surface.)
• Request individual salt and pepper packets, as well as for condiments such as hot sauce, ketchup and mustard. Communal eating, even of something as limited as salt from a shaker, remains something to be avoided. And don’t even ask about buffets.
• Limit the amount of time that you’re in the bar or restaurant. Spend more time pre-gaming and post-gaming at your apartment or some other safe location if you still want to party.
Depending on when you read this article, the risk of catching or spreading the coronavirus may be more or less than it was when this was prepared (in April 2021). (God willing, it will be much less, both for those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t.) So take that into account, and check with the CDC before assuming that all of the aforementioned precautions still apply. All in all, it’s better safe than sorry.