Safer Celebration During COVID-19 for Labor Day

As we near the Labor Day holiday, the Florida Department of Health in Nassau County encourages the community to practice universal precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The COVID-19 virus spreads when people are close and talking, coughing or sneezing. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. “Individuals infected with COVID-19 may show mild or no symptoms but are still able to spread the infection, stated Dr. Eugenia Ngo-Seidel, Health Department Director, “so when gatherings are planned, it is important to remember how to prevent spreading COVID-19 unknowingly to friends and family.”

DOH reminds all Nassau residents to protect the vulnerable by avoiding the Three Cs: Closed Spaces, Crowded Places and Close-Contact Settings and by wearing a mask in public:

• Closed Spaces. Avoid closed spaces with poor ventilation that could allow contagious droplets to linger in the air.
• Crowded Places. Avoid crowded places with many people nearby; the greater the number of individuals in an area, the greater the chances of COVID-19 spreading from person-to-person.
• Close-Contact Settings. Avoid close-range conversations and stay at least six-feet from others.

This Labor Day weekend, residents are encouraged to celebrate outdoors or in larger indoor spaces and to wear a mask if they cannot physically distance from others when they gather together with those outside their household.

Everyone plays a part in lowering the impact within our communities, homes, workplaces and gathering spaces.

Taking every day preventative actions helps to impede the spread of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19. Preventative actions include:

• Washing your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
• Staying home when you are sick. This message cannot be emphasized enough.
• Employees who have symptoms of acute respiratory illness are recommended to stay home and not come to work until they are free of fever (100.4° F or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants). Employees should notify their supervisor and stay home if they are sick.

For additional information, visit the Florida Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage at www.FloridaHealth.gov/COVID-19.

About the Florida Department of Health
The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.