{"id":21445,"date":"2022-10-26T14:25:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T14:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/news-stories\/uic-contact-tracing-and-epidemiology-program-halloween-health-tips\/"},"modified":"2022-10-26T14:25:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T14:25:54","slug":"uic-contact-tracing-and-epidemiology-program-halloween-health-tips","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/news-stories\/uic-contact-tracing-and-epidemiology-program-halloween-health-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"UIC Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Program &#8211; Halloween Health Tips"},"template":"","news_categories":[23],"news_tags":[],"class_list":["post-21445","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-admin-note"],"acf":{"intro_text_subtitle":"","intro_text_body":"<p>In the fall of 2020, UIC Contact Tracing observed a sharp surge in cases following the Halloween weekend when numerous gatherings across campus both large (over 100 people) and small were attended by individuals who were infected with COVID-19. Characteristically, attendees met indoors, did not wear masks, did not practice social distancing, and commonly shared beverages or food.<\/p>\n<p>A similar rise in cases was experienced in the fall of 2021 following the Halloween weekend. This high-level of disease persisted through November, and skyrocketed in December and January as UIC community members traveled to visit family members for the winter holidays and the Omicron variant emerged.<\/p>\n<p>As we near Halloween and prepare for a number of festivities, we would like to remind you of the following guidance to keep you, your friends and loved ones, and the UIC community safe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Get vaccinated if you are not already<\/strong>. If you have not yet received the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/vaccines\/stay-up-to-date.html\">updated COVID-19 booster<\/a>, consider scheduling it now.\n<ul>\n<li>Vaccination is best for protecting yourself and others from severe COVID-19 illness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not attend parties or gather with others if you have symptoms of COVID-19, no matter how mild<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consider getting tested before an event or social gathering<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>Testing is especially important when multiple households are gathering.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/today.uic.edu\/covid-19-saliva-testing\">Saliva testing<\/a> is quick, convenient, and no appointment is required.<\/li>\n<li>While PCR tests are most reliable, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/testing\/self-testing.html\">COVID-19 self-tests<\/a> are easy to use, produce rapid results, and can be found in pharmacies or online.\n<ul>\n<li>Repeat testing is recommended if attending a gathering.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>If you\u2019re hosting a gathering, try and stay outdoors as much as possible<\/strong>. If indoors, opening windows increases a space\u2019s ventilation and reduces the number of COVID-19 virus particles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Serve packaged or pre-portioned snacks and beverages.<\/strong> You should not share food or drinks with others!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Practice good hand hygiene <\/strong>if you or your family is out trick-or-treating by bringing hand sanitizer. If you are passing out candy, make sure to wash your hands frequently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wishing you a happy Halloween,<\/p>\n<p>UIC COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Epidemiology Program<\/p>\n","intro_text_excerpt":"We would like to remind you of the following guidance to keep you, your friends and loved ones, and the UIC community safe","content_author":"Eileen Doran","content_sticky":false,"intro_text_include_image":false,"intro_text_image":false,"intro_text_image_alt_text":"","intro_text_image_caption":"","intro_text_image_attribution":"","news_include_thumbnail":false,"news_thumbnail_image":false,"news_thumbnail_image_alt_text":""},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_categories?post=21445"},{"taxonomy":"news_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahs.uic.edu\/inside-ahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_tags?post=21445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}