In case you were wondering, or even if you weren’t, golf has been deemed one of the safest activities you could engage in during this global coronavirus pandemic.
MLive talked to four doctors in Michigan and they assessed the risk different activities pose. These experts said there are five factors to consider when determining the risk level:
- Is the activity indoors or out?
- What is the proximity to other people?
- What is the exposure time?
- What is the likelihood of compliance?
- What is the personal risk level?
Outdoor activities are, not surprisingly, deemed safer than those that are indoors. That’s why going to a crowded bar or attending a large concert was categorized as a 9 in this evaluation, which uses a 10-point scale.
Sports stadiums, gyms, churches, amusement parks and buffets were all given an 8.
Basketball got a 7, along with public pools and schools.
Hey, you, over there in Vegas: Casinos got a 6, as did restaurants with indoor seating, playgrounds, hair salons/barbershops, pontoon boat rides and movie theaters.
Hosting a dinner party or taking an airplane ride? Those check in as a 5, as did backyard barbecues and going to the mall (but who goes to the mall anymore?). Going to the beach or going bowling were also activities that got a 5.
In the ranking of 4 was visiting the dentist, walking in a busy downtown, working at the office, sitting in your doctor’s waiting room (which frankly could expose you to any number of diseases you don’t want) and eating outside at a restaurant.
Then we get to golf, which got a rating of 3, along with getting groceries, camping, visiting hotels, going to the library or walking through a museum.
Specific to golf, the study says:
(Golf) has a low risk, among the recreational activities, because it’s outdoors, is a non-contact sport and has small groups of people. It starts to become an issue when people start mingling, sharing golf carts and getting within 6 feet of each other. “Just play golf, say hi and bye, and go on your merry way. Don’t come close to each other,” says Dr. Nasir Husain, Henry Ford Macomb medical director for infection prevention.
Going for a jog, a walk or a bike ride with others is worth a 2 on this scale (no mention whether a tandem bike changes things). Getting gas is also a 2.
Finally, according to this list, the safest activities are getting takeout from a restaurant or playing tennis. They both got a 1. But what about the tennis ball, you say? Well, just hope your opponent doesn’t have COVID-19 because then tennis isn’t a 1 anymore.
So there you go. Concerts bad, golf good.
But whatever you do, the doctors in this study emphasize that if everybody takes precautions, the risk level for each activity is dramatically reduced, they said.
“Until we have a vaccine, we are going to have to move forward with risk-reduction strategies,” said Dr. Matthew Sims, Beaumont Health director of infectious disease research, a part of the four-person panel. “Because you can’t keep the economy on hold forever, you can’t keep peoples’ lives on hold forever.”
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