{"id":46161,"date":"2020-06-11T11:04:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T18:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/reduce-your-covid-19-risk-while-protesting\/"},"modified":"2020-06-11T11:10:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T18:10:02","slug":"reduce-your-covid-19-risk-while-protesting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/reduce-your-covid-19-risk-while-protesting\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce your COVID-19 risk while protesting"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Public Health – Seattle & King County staff<\/em> <\/p>\n

Public Health acknowledges that many protesters, particularly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, are choosing to take on the risk of potential exposure to COVID-19 because of the importance of confronting and undoing the systems of racism, oppression and brutality. People are protesting because their lives depend on it.<\/p>\n

We are concerned about the possible spread of COVID-19 at these large gatherings, and for the for the potential to exacerbate the racial\/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 rates for communities of color, especially for Black, Native, Latinx, and Pacific Islander residents of King County.<\/p>\n

We urge all people protesting against racial injustice to take steps to stay healthy and avoid bringing COVID-19 home with them. We need to keep each other healthy now and get to a more just future for everyone.<\/p>\n

Here are a few tips for before, during, and after protests to reduce risk of COVID-19 for yourself and others:<\/p>\n

Before You Go<\/strong><\/p>\n

* Stay home if you do not feel well. If you go out, you risk getting others sick.<\/p>\n

* Consider staying home if you have an underlying health condition, or are 60 or over. Take action in other ways from home by registering to vote and supporting local organizations.<\/p>\n

* Wear face coverings correctly. Fully cover your nose, mouth and chin; this will help prevent droplets from spreading if you decide to chant.<\/p>\n

* Carry only what you need to keep you safe. Carry shatterproof goggles, a face covering, alcohol-based hand sanitizer, water bottle, snacks, an ID, and any medication you may need (for example, an inhaler).<\/p>\n

* Carry saline in a squirt bottle. You can use saline or tap water to alleviate coughing and sneezing if you are exposed to tear gas.<\/p>\n

* Go with a small group. Attend with a small group of friends and limit unknown contacts.<\/p>\n

* Have a plan. Map out the route, establish exit routes and possible detours.<\/p>\n

* Make an emergency contact list. Write essential phone numbers and important health information on your skin in permanent marker.<\/p>\n

While You Are There<\/strong><\/p>\n

* Use noisemakers, drums and written signs. Limit how much you chant or yell to reduce possible exposure to others.<\/p>\n

* Physical distancing is still important. Keep as much physical distance as possible between yourself and people who are not part of your group.<\/p>\n

* Keep practicing healthy hand hygiene. Use hand sanitizer and avoid touching others. Also avoid touching your face.<\/p>\n

* Bring your own supplies and do not share. Avoid sharing water bottles, microphones, etc.<\/p>\n

* Take care of your physical and mental health. Consider when you may need to leave an unsafe situation.<\/p>\n

Once You Return Home<\/strong><\/p>\n

* Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as soon as you get home.<\/p>\n

* Change your clothes. Put the clothes in the washer. Wash your hands again.<\/p>\n

* Monitor your health for 14 days afterwards. Symptoms may appear up to 14 days later.<\/p>\n

* Take care of your mental health. Call Crisis Connections 24\/7 at 1-866-427-4747 for support.<\/p>\n

* Get tested right away if you develop even mild COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, or spent more than 15 minutes close to someone who tested positive.<\/p>\n

* Contact your health provider to help evaluate symptoms and need for testing.<\/p>\n

* Avoid contact with others until you have been tested, particularly those who may be at greater risk of severe COVID-19 illness.<\/p>\n

* If you can’t access testing through a health provider, a list of free sites can be found at kingcounty.gov\/covid\/testing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tips from Public Health – Seattle & King County <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":46162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-46161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46161"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=46161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}