Factors you must consider; and how some popular activities stack up against each other.
You have a wild night out.
Next morning, someone in the group feels queasy.
It turns out, they have an infection of some sort.
They are isolated inside a cabin to try to stop the infection from spreading...but then others start feeling unwell as well.
Even at the beginning of 2020, you would have said “Yeah, I get it, wise guy. You’ve seen Cabin Fever”.
But, as things stand now, that’s a little too close to reality.
Gif courtesy GIPHY
Yes, the coronavirus (Covid-19) doesn’t have the horror movie quality of slowly rotting your flesh, or of turning friendly pet dogs into growling monsters, but it is extremely infectious, and dangerous for certain people.
By no means should you take it lightly.
Does that mean staying at home until there is a vaccine?
Image courtesy Unsplash.
Unlike the flesh eating bacteria from Cabin Fever,
We know what Covid-19 is.
We know how it spreads and how to cut back on spreading.
We know what to do to protect ourselves from getting it.
Which means, as long as we take certain precautions, there’s no reason to stay at home.
What are the precautions that can make a Chicago night out COVIDSafer?
Well, Covid-19 spreads through respiratory droplets. We could
Breathe in air with droplets of the virus.
Touch surfaces with affected droplets present, and then touch our nose or mouth, leading to the droplets going through to the lungs.
Fortunately, that sounds grimmer than it is.
A few common sense precautions can help us from getting infected or spreading covid, even as we head out.
Mask wearing
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Wearing a mask while we’re outdoors is the easiest way to limit the virus from spreading.
Pretty self-explanatory, seeing that the virus spreads through respiratory droplets.
Yeah, masks are inconvenient, they make you feel hot, you may have to speak a little loudly, but they CAN stop the virus from spreading.
Wearing a mask on your night out
Which activities in Chicago would easily allow for a mask to be worn?
Let’s think about this.
Where mask wearing is easy - Activities that don’t require a lot of physical effort, like an escape room, or watching a movie at the theatre.
Where mask wearing is difficult - In activities involving physical strain, like a gym, or things like eating out.
Physical distancing
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Maintaining a distance of 2 arms’ length from people you don’t know is important.
If you’re visiting an establishment like a bar or a movie theater, maintaining a distance between yourself and the establishment staff is also important.
Physical distancing on your night out
How do different kinds of activities in Chicago compare?
Where physical distancing is easy - In activities that are private AND where you don’t need to interact a lot with the staff, like a private escape room.
Where physical distancing is difficult - In activities that are public, like a mall OR where you need to interact often with the staff, like in a bar.
Private activity
If the experience involves a private activity, like an escape room, you can breathe a little easier, since it’s only you and your group who’re taking part in the activity.
Limited group size
Angels may be able to crowd the streets; we can't. Gif courtesy GIPHY.
Allowing in a limited number of people can improve distancing between different groups.
Limited group size on your night out
Which Chicago activities allow for limited group sizes?
Where limited group sizes are possible - Establishments whose business caters to individual experiences, like a restaurant, or those catering to small groups, like an escape room.
Where limited group sizes are difficult - Activities that depend on mass use, like movie theaters, or malls.
Disinfection between patrons
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Disinfecting the premises after a group of patrons leaves can make it safer for the next group.
What kind of activities would allow for this?
Appointment-based activities
Gif courtesy GIPHY.
If patrons arrive according to an appointed time, it will be easy to schedule regular sanitization sessions between the allotted time slots.
Appointment-based activities also make contact tracing easier, and less error-prone than with activities where patrons come and go as convenient.
Activities where disinfection can be done between patrons
If you think about it,
Disinfection between patrons is possible - In session-based activities, that is, one session occurs after another, like a gym or an escape room.
Disinfection between patrons is difficult - In activities where patrons arrive and leave according to their own convenience, like a mall.
Contactless payment
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If contactless payment is mandatory, you don’t run the risk of having to touch potentially infected objects, like money or credit cards.
Contactless payment on your night out
How do the various night out options in Chicago compare?
Mandatory contactless payment is possible - When you need to be booked beforehand, like in a gym (monthly subscription), or an escape room (advance booking).
Mandatory contactless payment is difficult - When you need to pay on the spot, like in a bar, or in a mall.
Hand sanitizing
Image courtesy Unsplash.
Soap kills the virus.
That’s why occasional hand sanitization, a.k.a. washing your hands, is a good precaution to take while going out.
Hand sanitizing on your night out
How do your list of things to do in Chicago stack up?
Hand sanitizing is possible - In almost every kind of activity.
You can visit the washroom to wash your hands with soap and water.
Check if the establishment provides you with an alcohol-based sanitizer near your table (for a restaurant or a bar), as you go in (in a movie theater), and so on.
How do the various activities in Chicago stack up?
Here’s an infographic that compares the various activities in Chicago according to how well health guidelines can be maintained.
Escape room - a particularly COVID-compliant activity?
Gif courtesy GIPHY
Yeah...you might very well think that since we are, after all, an escape room in Chicago, this is a little “home advantage” we’re giving ourselves.
But, if you think about it, an escape room game is really well-suited to enforce covid-related health and safety guidelines.
Team activity
Being a team activity, and a private event, an escape room leaves little scope for any unwanted contact with people outside of your group.
Limited staff participation
The entire game demands little direct participation with the escape room staff, which further reduces the scope for contact with people outside of your group.
Session booked beforehand
Escape room games can easily be made private, which means you need to book beforehand, and you can avail of the facility within your time slot.
This means:
Little contact with other patrons.
Contactless payment.
The facility can be sanitized between two groups.
Contact tracing, if necessary, is easier.
Little physical effort; hand washing is easy
An escape game involves logical thinking, communication between team members, and some manipulation of physical objects.
Little physical activity is required.
This means:
You can wear a mask (with little physical effort, you won’t be breathing heavily).
You can easily sanitize your hands if necessary mid-game.
The objects you touch can be sanitized between groups.
As you can see, it’s logical to claim that an escape room is THE activity to enjoy on your night out in Chicago, especially during Covid-19 times.
All the best, stay safe, and if you are looking for things to do in Chicago during the time of COVID, hit us up!
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