5.11.21

I'm Going Outside, Do I Still Need a Mask?

Outside activities have always been safer than inside ones, and now that many people in Pamlico have been vaccinated and we know more about COVID-19, it’s a good time to ask whether you need to wear a mask if you are going to be outside. 

As a general rule if you are out walking your dog, riding a bike, hiking on a trail or picnicking with members of your household or with vaccinated friends, these are examples of activities where you do not need a mask as the risk for virus exposure is negligible.  

If you can be socially distant from strangers outdoors then this too is a reasonably safe situation where you will not need a mask. But keep one in your pocket, so that if you have to go indoors or cannot maintain a 6’ distance from strangers even outdoors, you can put it on. The time you are in contact with strangers outside is also important – a brief one minute exchange is reasonably safe, but a 15 minute face to face conversation with someone who you do not know when you are within 6’ of them means you should don your mask. Remember that the new variants are much more contagious than the original strain of the virus, so can be transmitted more rapidly.

When it comes to eating in outdoor restaurants this is probably a fine activity with members of your household or vaccinated friends, but it is safest to not sit close at a crowded table with unvaccinated friends, where you will all be mask-less to eat and drink.  It is also courteous to put on your mask when interacting with the servers, who are frontline workers, and we should do this out of respect for them.

Avoid crowds, even outdoors!

For more information see this article from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/well/live/covid-masks-outdoors.html?referringSource=articleShare