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Life at Full Throttle: A friendly rivalry helps remember a loved one

Even as COVID-19 vaccines are distributed and made available to more people across the country, it&rsquo;s important to recognize that the basic safety measures we&rsquo;ve depended on since spring will STILL be required to slow the spread of the virus.
				Hospitals and health systems are still seeing alarmingly high rates of COVID-19 activity, in many cases, the highest since the pandemic started. Wearing masks, staying physically distant from those who live outside of our households and washing and sanitizing hands frequently will help reverse that trend while we&rsquo;re waiting for vaccines to reach more of the population.
				While staying away from others in public and avoiding crossing households has been a regular theme in this column lately, we haven&rsquo;t spent much time on how to live with others who may be at risk of exposure.
				Keeping exposure at a minimum in your household might be easy if you have a family unit with adults working from home and children learning virtually, but what if you have multiple people going to work outside of the home every day?
				What if a group of roommates has a diverse set of routines that creates more chances of coming in contact with COVID-19?
				First thing&rsquo;s first: Make sure each member of your household is following the basic precautions. Remember that wearing your mask properly means over your mouth AND nose; washing your hands properly means scrubbing for at least 20 seconds or using a 60 percent or more alcohol-based sanitizer; and staying physically distant means more than 6 feet from those who live outside your dwelling.
				Inviting others into your home is not recommended at this time, and in a household where residents must already leave the home to work and run necessary errands, introducing another person to the mix can add risk to an already precarious situation.
				Try small ways of reducing your household&rsquo;s overall exposure. Gather to make one grocery list and send one representative to the store each week. Or, consider ordering online and having groceries delivered, if that is financially feasible for your group.
				If you have roommates who are taking COVID-19 lightly and being unsafe, try to voice your concerns in a considerate and diplomatic way. Instead of forcing your position and potentially starting an argument, listen to their input and try to offer them reliable sources of information on the topic. Informing yourself as much as possible prior to such a conversation will help you offer sound perspective.
				Even when everyone in your household is doing their part to stay safe, it&rsquo;s possible that someone becomes infected. With a case of COVID-19 in the house, it&rsquo;s important that everyone isolate. The sick roommate should try to isolate from other members of the household, and other roommates should isolate from everyone outside the household.
				If one roommate is infected, all others should assume they have COVID-19 and act accordingly.Ideally, the sick resident should keep to one room as much as possible and use a separate bedroom and bathroom from the rest of the roommates. If the living space is small and this is not possible, it&rsquo;s important to clean the bathroom and other high-touch surfaces regularly.
				Someone who is sick should isolate for 10 days or until symptom free for at least 24 hours, and roommates should avoid sharing household items like plates, cutlery and serving utensils.
				And we truly shouldn&rsquo;t be entertaining visitors regardless of if there is a COVID case in our households. So please, if you have an ill roommate, avoid having guests. If you must have someone deliver food to your door, try to get your food without coming in contact with your delivery person. In coming months, we hope to see this pandemic controlled as we vaccinate our population. Until then, do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Living with others during COVID-19