29.03.2024

Is the summer heat slowing down the virus?

Early speculation about the new coronavirus suggested the number of cases might ease with the summer and come back with the fall. After all, the flu comes and goes with the seasons, right?

As the sweltering, heavy midwestern air moves in for the summer, it might feel like it’s time for COVID-19 to move out.

So, is it relatively safe to relax some of the precautions you’ve been taking to stop the spread of the virus? Dr. Robert Citronberg, director of infectious disease at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, says it’s not time to let down your guard.

“We know that coronaviruses in general tend to be seasonal viruses,” Dr. Citronberg said during a recent Facebook Live event. “They don’t do as well in hot and humid weather. But we don’t know about this virus particularly yet.”

“Even in higher temperatures and humidity, the virus might be less active, but it’s still out there. The problem with hot and humid weather is that people are congregating more too,” he says. “So even if there is a beneficial effect from weather conditions, that could be easily negated because people are congregated so much more.”

Wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others are proven ways to stop the spread of this serious virus, even when it’s hot outside. And while the economies of both Illinois and Wisconsin continue to open back up, you should still following distancing rules if you go out and about, limiting your contact with others whenever possible.

Fact or fiction: Is the summer heat slowing down the virus?

Dr. Citronberg’s comments came during a Facebook Live event where he and other experts answered questions about common COVID-19 myths. You can find the full video below.

What you need to know before you go get a haircut

Dr. Nicole Zaremba, an Aurora Health Care breast surgeon based in Milwaukee, said she felt comfortable with a recent trip to a salon because both she and her stylist were wearing masks, she was sitting six feet away from other patrons, she waited in her car until her appointment, stylists were wiping things down between appointments, and she was asked about her symptoms in advance.

What you need to know before you go get a haircut

Stay-at-home orders in Illinois and Wisconsin left a lot of people feeling a little shaggier after a couple months of missed haircuts.

But now that stylists and barbers are back to work, is it safe to go get a trim?

The key is to take some of the same COVID-19 precautions you would anywhere else.

“It’s about employing those same guidelines that we’ve been harping on over and over and over again,” Dr. Zaremba said at a recent Facebook Live event.

Before you go in for your haircut, it would be a good idea to call ahead and ensure the salon is taking important precautions.

“It’s ensuring that the salon that you’re going to is practicing all these safety guidelines,” Dr. Zaremba said. “And assuming they are, I think it’s safe to go in.”

Dr. Zaremba’s comments came during a Facebook Live event where he and other experts answered questions about common COVID-19 myths. You can find the full video below.

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