Coronavirus spread continues to be a concern throughout the state of Florida and beyond. As statistics continue to demonstrate the number of cases climbing, it is so important for you to take the necessary precautions to help keep yourself healthy and limit the spread of the disease in your apartment. Just like frequent hand washing and wearing a mask, social distancing is key to help you, your roommates, and your community get through this pandemic safely.
Social distancing at home can be tricky. The CDC says, "Shared housing residents often gather together closely for social, leisure, and recreational activities, shared dining, laundry facilities, stairwells, and elevators and may have challenges with social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
So how do you practice social distancing in your apartment near FSU? There are two main living areas you should pay attention to while social distancing: areas within your apartment and in common areas within your apartment complex.
Social Distancing in Your Tallahassee Apartment Near FSU
If you live by yourself, social distancing within your residence is, by default, easier! However, for those of you living with roommates, or even family, there are some important discussion points that should be addressed to plan for keeping a safe and healthy environment at home. These include:
- Apartment Visitor Policy – Identify if your Tallahassee apartment has restrictions around visitors. Regardless, you should evaluate your own comfort with visitors within your apartment. How do you and your roommates feel about friends visiting? Family members? Significant others? Consider how much exposure potential guests are likely to have, like if they've been working and studying entirely from home, or if they have been working a customer-facing job.
- Create a Schedule for Your Shared Space – This may take some getting used to, but you and your roommates may need to consider limiting interactions within your apartment and in shared common areas. Though you may not always be able to be six feet apart, you can still limit interactions. If you stagger the use of the common areas, like your kitchen or laundry room, you can help everyone keep their distance. You'll also want to consider discussing other precautions for these shared spaces. Should you wear masks when in common areas of the apartment? How often will you clean these shared spaces, and who will clean what?
- Update Your Habits - In the time you've lived in your Tallahassee apartment, you've probably developed some habits surrounding how you use your personal space. Now, with the need to take more precautions in shared spaces, your habits may need tweaking. For example, everyone should wash their hands for 20 seconds upon entering the apartment. You will also want to avoid leaving personal belongings in shared spaces, whether that means your backpack in the living room or your toothbrush on the bathroom counter. Determine what works best for your household.
Social Distancing Around Your Apartment Amenities
Social distancing measures shouldn't stop once you step outside your apartment's doors. You want to make sure you're taking these with you to the shared spaces within your Tallahassee apartment common areas, including amenities such as…
- The Pool – It's warm in Florida - the need to cool off is real. Before changing into your swimsuit, check if the community rules on pool use have changed, such as limiting the number of people who can use it at one time. As always, personal hygiene when swimming is important to use the shower before swimming, and, if you're sharing the space with other people, be mindful of keeping your distance – 6 feet apart!
- The Fitness Center - Before looking to the gym, which may or may not be open right now, depending on your Tallahassee apartment's guidelines, explore workouts you can do from your apartment or outside. If those don't work for you, be vigilant in keeping your distance among attendees and be sure to clean equipment before and after use. Wear a mask and use hand sanitizers and wipes.
- Study Spaces - These can be a great way to get out of your apartment near FSU in Tallahassee and focus, but they also tend to be more contained than many other amenities in your apartment community. If you plan to use the study space at your apartment, wear your mask and wipe down your study area with cleaning wipes. Try not to move around the space too much to limit your exposure and maintain at least a 6-foot distance from other people in the space. If you find it's crowded when you go, try to adjust your schedule to come at slower times.
- The Mailbox – The CDC has stated in this FAQ that "... it is unlikely to be spread from domestic or international mail, products or packaging." While you can feel confident, you'll be safe touching your mail, the mail area is another good place to practice social distancing and mask-wearing. Wash or sanitize your hands after touching the shared mailboxes or handling envelopes and packages.
Social distancing can be frustrating, but if we can all do our part to mitigate the spread of the virus, we shouldn't have to do it for very long. Stay safe (and healthy) out there!