Social-distance party-pooping Driveway get-togethers no guarantee against spread of COVID-19, doctors say By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2020

Maybe you’ve seen them on social media. Maybe you’ve even seen them in your own neighbourhood.

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This article was published 13/04/2020 (1716 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Maybe you’ve seen them on social media. Maybe you’ve even seen them in your own neighbourhood.

So-called “driveway parties,” with people arranging lawn chairs, two metres apart. Or meeting in parking lots and socializing from their cars.

It’s a physical-distancing loophole that might be tempting, especially as the weather begins to warm up, but Dr. Marcia Anderson, a medical officer of health for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, is pretty frank on the subject. “We would not recommend the driveway, lawn chair, car-parking gatherings.”

Michael Dwyer / The Associated Press files
It might seem safe to sit two metres apart, but doctors say it’s important to remember two metres is a minimum, for short periods of time, and not a guarantee. — Michael Dwyer / The Associated Press files It might seem safe to sit two metres apart, but doctors say it’s important to remember two metres is a minimum, for short periods of time, and not a guarantee.

The message, as ever, is to stay home.

“I would reinforce what Dr. (Brent) Roussin (Manitoba’s chief public health officer) has been saying, what our guidelines say, which is to stay home as much as possible,” Anderson says. “We understand that this is hard, but for non-essential service providers, we are asking people to stay home as much as possible, except for when they need to go out to the stores to get essential items.”

Coronavirus is transmitted via respiratory droplets, which are generated when an infected individual sneezes or coughs. We know that social exposure can increase our risk of contracting and spreading the virus, which is why physical distancing is one of the most effective tools for slowing spread of COVID-19.

Those who think they are practising good physical distancing by breaking out the measuring tape and spacing out lawn chairs exactly two metres apart — which is about how far respiratory droplets will travel — should keep a few things in mind.

For one thing, two metres (or six feet) is a guideline, not a magic number, and it’s “at least” two metres. There’s a difference between briefly passing someone in the grocery store with two metres between you and sitting in a group chatting for hours.

Even if someone attending a hypothetical driveway gathering doesn’t enter the home of the host, the host doesn’t necessarily know where the people they’re visiting with have been, or who they’ve been in contact with — and who those people have been in contact with — which is why health officials are telling Canadians to avoid spending time with people who live outside their home, including family members.

These types of gatherings may also be a slippery slope if people become less vigilant and more lax about preventive measures.

Maybe the chairs start getting a bit closer together. Maybe an attendee arrives with the sniffles — “it’s just allergies.” Maybe an attendee leaves behind a beverage bottle that someone else touches and throws out.

Visiting with small children in this way can also be a challenge, since they may not be old enough to understand why they can’t run up to and hug their grandparents or friends. It’s best to just remove the temptation, and the risk.

Be careful not to jump to conclusions about the motives of people who are throwing “driveway parties,” however. People may be seeking out ways to interact in person not necessarily because they believe the rules do not apply to them, but because they may be struggling. Staying home, after all, is a directive that runs counter to the way many of us live our lives. We are naturally starting to miss our people, and it’s painful.

“I think physical distancing and staying at home as much as possible can be really hard,” Anderson says. “It can be really isolating for people, and people are really craving that connection. And I think that is why people are trying to find things like this.

Amanda Voisard / Bloomberg
Walking and greeting neighbours from afar is appropriate social distancing, doctors say. — Amanda Voisard / Bloomberg Walking and greeting neighbours from afar is appropriate social distancing, doctors say.

“But more and more what we’re seeing, from our own expert recommendations and other jurisdictions, is to really reinforce that staying at home, and going outside only with members of your own household.”

When it comes to other people, connect virtually, Anderson says. Watch a movie with friends via Netflix Party. Organize a Zoom happy hour. Have grandma read bedtime stories over Skype.

Physical distancing does not mean you can’t go outside for some much-needed fresh air and sunshine. “Going outside with people who live in your own home is OK, so walking around, playing in your own driveway with a ball, things like that,” Anderson says.

There’s also no need to be anti-social. You can say hi to your next-door neighbour — but stay in your own yard or on your own porch.

Once more for the people in the back: “We are asking people to stay home as much as possible.”

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti