What You Need to Know-Week of October 26th
The most important weekly updates for you to keep your community healthy
In this Update:
1. Pandemic Preparedness: How to Stay Safe during Halloween Activities
2. Pandemic Preparedness: Día de los Muertos
3. Quick Question: Can pets get COVID-19?
4. Quick Question: Why does my survey link not work?
1. Pandemic Preparedness: How to Stay Safe during Halloween Activities
Halloween is coming up soon and it is important to consider the risk level of activities that you plan on participating in! It is always safer to participate in online activities (e.g., online costume parties with friends and family) or activities with the people that you live with (e.g., carving pumpkins). However, if you do plan on participating in a moderate or high risk activity, here are some ways to help reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 and of spreading it to others:
- Do not partake in any activities if you are feeling ill even if only mildly ill. RememberCOVID-19 is sometimes a very mild illness.
- Do not partake in any activities if someone in your household has symptoms of COVID-19 or if you have had any other exposures to someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
- Wear cloth face coverings – a costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth face covering.
- It is not recommended to wear two masks because it may make it difficult to breathe.
- Physically distance yourself (6 feet or more) from people that you do not live with.
- Outdoors is always better – avoid indoor gatherings as they are associated with increased risk of COVID-19 spread.
- Do not share any items with people who you do not live with (e.g., beverages, food, costume masks or accessories, etc.).
- Check with your neighborhood and municipality to see if trick or treating is going to be allowed.
- If you do decide to go trick or treating and it is allowed in your neighborhood, opt for contact-less trick or treating.
- Stay 6 feet away from others: including those handing out the candy.
- Individually wrapped candy can be set on the ground and can be picked up after the person who answered the door goes back inside.
- Bring hand sanitizer with you and/or your children while trick or treating to use after handling any candy or other objects from people living outside of the household.
- Consider “pandemic pod” trick or treating. If your houses are close kids can go between them multiple times and the house host can change costumes
2. Pandemic Preparedness: Dia De los Muertos
Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of the many events this year that will look a bit different. Many traditional activities can put you at a higher risk for exposure to COVID-19. Dia de Los Muertos is a time for family and friends to honor the lives of loved ones that have passed. Below are some alternatives on how to celebrate while keeping yourself and those around you safe. Do not attend gatherings if you are sick or have been exposed to COVID-19.
High-Risk Activities
- Going to crowded celebrations at a cemetery
- Participating in in-person, indoor gatherings with singing, dancing, and chanting
- Attending parties with individuals outside your household or pod where alcohol is served. Alcohol can make it harder for you to maintain physical distancing at all times.
- Attending an in-person get together with people outside of your home or "pandemic pod"
Moderate-Risk Activities
- Have a small get together outdoors with a local group (<10 people) while following physical distancing guidelines and wearing cloth face coverings
- Attending a parade outdoors while following physical distancing guidelines and wearing a cloth face covering
- Participating in a parade where physical distancing is strictly observed.
- Visit and decorate graves of loved ones with household members and be physically distanced from others. [Note: You may be able to reduce this to low risk if you go to the cemetery prior to when large celebrations would be occurring]
Low-Risk Activities
- Join a virtual celebration with friends and family
- Create an altar for the deceased at home with the members of your household
- Make and decorate masks from home with the members of your household
- Prepare traditional family recipes for household members
3. Quick Question: Can Pets Get COVID-19?
The answer is that yes, pets can get COVID-19 but rarely. There have been a few reports of pets, including cats and dogs, that have become infected with the virus after having contact with a human COVID-19 case. However, more studies and research needs to be conducted in order to understand exactly how pets are affected by the virus that causes COVID-19. The few reported pet cases are reassuring, because it appears that animals do not play a significant role in spreading the virus. If you are concerned about your pet being sick after an exposure to a human that tested positive for COVID-19 call ahead to your veterinarian to make them aware of the potential exposure and ask for guidance. Always make sure your pets are up to date on their vaccinations and obtain routine exams to ensure they are as healthy as possible.
learn more about Animals & COVID19 Learn more about healthy pets and pet owners on COVID19
4. Quick Question: Why does my survey link not work?
Many of you may have experienced difficulties with completing the weekly survey. This was a result of how our service was built and the fact that we did not expect to still be offering this service 7 months later! Our engineers have been hard at work to resolve this issue and we are excited to announce that the fix was released this week. This means you should no longer experience any problems with the survey link not working. The AZCOVIDTXT team values your input and we hope that you continue to complete the weekly survey. Thank you for your patience as we’ve worked through this issue. Together we can help stop the spread of COVID-19!
The next update will cover information about how to visit family safely. If you would like to learn more about this and other topics related to COVID-19 in Arizona, please complete next week’s AZCOVIDTXT survey that you will receive via text in about a week.