celebrate

By Sherry Wells

After many months of sheltering-in-place and quarantining and Zoom meetings, people are ready to get ‘out and about’ again. Seeing friends can ease stress and anxiety in these very stressful days.

As you make plans to gather with family and friends this summer, health experts want you to please do it safely. Having your gathering outside where, ideally, there is more space to social distance properly is the best option.

First, it’s important to consider the size of your gathering. The number of guests should also depend on how much space you have. While gatherings of up to 50 people is allowed across the state now that Illinois moved into the fourth phase of its reopening plan, a smaller gathering poses less risk. Place chairs and tables spaced apart to adhere to social-distancing protocols.

Next, decide who you should invite. Consider the age, health status and general comfort level of your guests, as well as your own immediate family. If they are older or immunocompromised, they might be more at risk.

Here are some tips to help you provide for a safe party environment:

• Encourage people to wear masks. Don’t take it personally if a friend isn’t ready to get together. • As the party host, clean and disinfect everything, tables, chairs and common areas before, during and after the party. Keep out wipes and hand sanitizer for continual cleaning of all high-touch areas your guests have access to. • Not everyone is comfortable offering bathroom privileges. Keep a time limit for your gathering. If you let guests use your bathroom. put out wipes, lots of soap and hand sanitizer. • If you plan on firing up the grill, this will not be like your typical barbecue. You should arm yourself with a plan so that people have as few touch-points and interactions as possible. • Use disposable dishes and utensils. You can also have a system where people pick up a plate of food rather than serve themselves.

People serving food or drinks should wear masks and gloves.

• Never share utensils, drinks or food. Instead of community condiments, put them in a bowl and have everyone use their own utensil to serve themselves.

• Everyone needs to stay hydrated and drink lots of water. The best case scenario is providing drinks in individual cans or bottles so guests can help themselves. • Instead of a barbecue, a safe option is to have a BYOB and BYO food, as well as BYO everything else gathering. All in all, use common sense, be aware of the guidelines to keep COVID-19 from crashing your event.

Grilling safety tips for your cookout

Cook meats to a safe temperature.

Use a food thermometer to check that your burgers or steaks have been cooked to a temperature that will help prevent foodborne illnesses from bacteria such as E. coli. Ground beef and pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160°F (70˚C). Steaks and roasts should be cooked to at least 145°F (62.6˚C) and allow to rest for three minutes after removal from the grill.

Don’t reuse marinades that have been used with raw meat. Don’t use the same plates or utensils.

Whatever dish you bring the meats to the grill on should not be used to take them up, unless it’s cleaned thoroughly. That’s because bacteria from the raw meat can spread to the cooked meat. Have a clean plate or platter and clean utensils to take up food.

Wash your hands after preparing

meats. Also wash your kitchen counter, cutting boards and utensils after they are used on raw meats.

Keep chilled certain salads or

desserts that were served cold. After being served, cold dishes should not stay outside for more than two hours – and just one hour if it is warmer than 90 degrees outside. Beyond that, toss it.

Some are more likely to succumb to food poisoning from E. coli; children and newborns, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems are among those more susceptible.

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