Teens are still meeting up during coronavirus outbreak. ‘Please stop,’ SLO County says
Look, we all get it — shelter at home can be a bit boring, especially if you’re a teenager and school is out. But that’s no reason to ignore social distancing, San Luis Obispo County’s Public Health officer cautioned Monday.
At a media briefing in San Luis Obispo, Dr. Penny Borenstein said her office has been barraged with calls from concerned individuals saying teenagers and kids are not practicing physical distancing.
“I want to implore our youth that they use (social media) means of communication at this time and not gather in groups,” she said. “We are continuing to see youth that are out of school gathering.”
Though there is a perception that children are not at as high a risk of contracting the virus as older individuals, to date, three San Luis Obispo children under the age of 17 have tested positive for COVID-19.
Borenstein urged teens to limit their social activities, including outdoor activities that would potentially require physical contact and even “just friend-to-friend, going house-to-house.”
“I really want to implore teens to find other ways to communicate with their peers,” she said, pointing to the myriad of phone apps available to kids and teens to stay in communication with one another.
Borenstein also had a message for parents:
“It’s really important for parents to check in with their teens,” she said. “They need social connectivity. This is a prime time of life when teens very much rely on their peers.”
Borenstein asked for all parents to talk with their kids about social distancing and the current regulations, but also about the implications the current outbreak will have on their daily lives.
“Not just finger-wagging, ‘No, you may not go to Sally’s house,’” she said, “but also, ‘So what does this mean for you in terms of not necessarily having school for the rest of the year? Not being able to get together with your friends? Not getting to see your boyfriend?’ Those kinds of conversations are important to our youth and will help us all get through this together.”
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