Pandemic Dating Tips
These tips were assembled by our Safer Dating Advisory Board of epidemiologists and infectious disease experts. We urge all members to receive the highly effective and safe vaccines that greatly prevent spreading the virus and becoming ill or hospitalized with severe COVID-19. Need help scheduling? VaccineSpotter is a useful tool for finding vaccine appointment openings at your state’s pharmacies.
- Check your area for increased coronavirus activity and follow government warnings and protocols. If your county or neighboring counties are experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases or if you are under an order to stop all non-essential movement outside the home, do not meet up in person. Additionally, if you have visited an area within the last two weeks that was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, delay meeting in person. This travel guidance might be different if you are fully vaccinated, please refer to your local health department for the most up-to-date information.
- Pre-screen potential dates on video. Video is a much richer experience than just looking at a person’s (potentially old) photos and exchanging text chats. Video dates can help you disqualify bad dates and see if you have enough chemistry to date them in person before risking exposure. If you do meet in person, take it slow -- coronavirus is highly contagious and easily spread by breathing in air when close to an infected person. Learn about each other first and be careful about engaging in physical activity and contact.
- Discuss COVID-19 risk factors openly and honestly. You should learn what your date is doing to protect themselves and the other people in their household before meeting up. Are they fully vaccinated? Are there members of their household that are not or cannot be vaccinated at this time? Are there members of their household who are more vulnerable to infection and severe disease? You should each know how many other people each of you has come into contact with recently and the measures each of you are using to protect yourselves. Are their behaviors around masking and distancing consistent with what you feel is important? Are they meeting lots of new people? Do they work from home? All of these should factor into if you will feel comfortable meeting them.
- Don’t go on a date if either of you are sick or have had contact with someone who is. It is not worth the risk. Instead you could consider rescheduling the date for at least two weeks later and can keep dating virtually.
- Refer to CDC health guidance on masking protocols and be cautious. It is always safest to meet in a public place and you should choose a well-ventilated, uncrowded, and outdoor location because COVID-19 is less transmissible outside. If you have decided to meet up in person, enjoy the fall weather and stay outdoors! Go to a park, an outdoor restaurant, or have a picnic. Dining indoors is safest when both parties are fully vaccinated. Follow local health department guidance regarding masking and distances indoors if fully vaccinated. If either of you is unvaccinated, avoid indoor seating and bars. If you must be inside to buy food, use your mask to do so and then go outside to eat.
- Keep your boundaries and follow common sense safety precautions like washing your hands frequently, not touching your face, avoiding crowds and following CDC guidance on mask wearing. Your date should respect your decision to practice safe habits! If they don’t respect your boundaries and comfort level, they are not worth meeting in person.
- Be choosy with who you meet and when in doubt get tested. If you are unvaccinated and are frequently going on dates with multiple people and engaging in any physical contact with them, you should be screened for coronavirus regularly via nasal or oral swabs. Many pharmacies have free drive-up or walk-in testing and at-home kits are now available that can give COVID-19 test results within 15 minutes. If you are unvaccinated, keep the group you socialize with very small to reduce everyone’s risk.
