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Glastonbury 2022: How to keep safe from Covid-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro
Stay safe while partying away.
Revellers are descending on Worthy Farm as Glastonbury begins this week (Picture: Geoff Pugh/Shutterstock)
Crowds of music fans are marking their way to Worthy Farm as this year’s Glastonbury Festival begins.
The first one after the pandemic, this year’s event is set to be bigger and better than ever with more than 3,000 artists set to perform.
Fans will be able to enjoy headline sets from the likes of Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar, and Diana Ross.
And while rail strikes have been dominating headlines threatening to cause commuting chaos for Glastonbury goers, there is another threat to fans’ enjoyment.
With hundreds of thousands of people heading to the festival, the threat of Covid will be heightened.
But how can you keep yourself safe while dancing the days away?
Health Expert Stephanie Taylor from StressNoMore told Metro UK her top tips for staying safe from Covid at Glastonbury Festival.
She said: ‘After three long years, Glastonbury is set to return on the 22nd of June. But as ticketholders prepare for one of the largest outdoor festivals in the world, the threat of Covid-19 exists.
‘But in a sea of around 200,000 people, what can you do to protect your health?
With thousands of people heading to Glastonbury, you may be worried about the chance of catching Covid (Picture: Getty Images)
Testing
While it’s no longer a legal requirement to display a Covid-19 test or lateral flow result when attending events, it might be an idea to take a Covid-19 test if you feel unwell or have been around someone who has tested positive before you go.
If you have been around someone who has had Covid-19 and notice symptoms, ring NHS 111 or your local sexual health clinic, who can offer you advice and arrange a PCR test.
Even if you don’t have it, eliminating any possibility that you may have the virus stops you from potentially spreading it to other festival-goers.
Boost your immune system
Additionally, to prepare your immune system for five days of excessive drinking, no sleep and a lot of walking, you might want to get a couple of early nights over the next few days.
Quality sleep is essential for boosting your immune system against threats, with several studies revealing that the risk of infections is higher for those with sleep deprivation.
You may be surprised how many vitamins and minerals are in canned foods (Picture: Getty Images)
Its also important to pack plenty of essential food and drinks that you can have at your festival in-between partying.
While fresh foods are a no-no, you’d be surprised by the nutritional value you can get from tinned foods. For example, tinned vegetables like carrot, peas, and sweetcorn will provide you with plenty of vitamins, while tinned meat has protein and carbs, and beans, pulses, or cereal bars are high in fibre and other nutrients.
Other essentials to help protect you from potential health threats include hand sanitiser, a mini first-aid kit, and essential vitamins (kept in original bottles and sealed packaging).
Stay hygienic
When you’re at the festival, don’t let your hygiene slip as this is how you can damage your immune system. Ensure you wash your hands with soap and water (when you can) and always carry hand sanitiser around with you.
Hand sanitisers with a higher volume of alcohol are better, as they are a more effective disinfectant that breaks up the outer coating of bacteria and viruses.
Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated amid all the walking, dancing, and potential alcohol drinking. The recommended amount is around three litres.
If you have a standard 500ml plastic water bottle, drink six bottles throughout the day. Drinking plenty will give you more energy, keep you cool and help prevent sickness.
Try and avoid sharing foods, drinks and utensils, or clothes with others, and don’t touch your face frequently, as pathogens on your hands can enter your body through your mouth, eyes, or nose.
And if you’re feeling unwell, visit one of the medical facilities on-site, who will be able to offer you the best advice for your symptoms.”
Always carry hand sanitiser with you (Picture: Getty Images)
Practice safe sex
This tip could keep you safe from Covid as well as other nasty diseases.
Pippa Murphy, sex and relationship expert at condoms.uk, told Metro UK: ‘As there’s limited access to showers at a festival, it’s still important to practice hygienic sex to prevent an infection.
‘If you’re camping, you should take anti-bacterial wipes and hand sanitiser to keep your hands and fingernails clean for foreplay, and general skin-to-skin contact.
‘In addition, fragrance-free wet wipes are ideal for cleaning yourself pre- and post-sex. You should also bring a breath spray or mouth wash.
‘Covid-19 spreads through virus particles in saliva, mucus, or the breath of those who have it, whereas monkeypox can be passed on through sex. For example, oral, anal, and vaginal sex or touching the genitals (penis, testicles, labia, and vagina) or anus (butt) of a person.
‘If you’re, therefore, worried about caching Covid-19, there are alternative ways around sex. For example, not kissing, keeping your clothes on, and favouring positions where you’re not face-to-face.’
Wear a mask
Though it is not compulsory to wear masks at an outdoor event, you can still wear one if you feel uncomfortable and want to decrease the risk of infection.
However, some experts do not believe this is necessary at outdoor events.
Wearing a mask may help lower the risk of transmission (Picture: Getty Images)
Speaking to Verywell, David Dowdy MD, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said: “The amount of air outdoors is just tremendously greater than in even the best-ventilated room.
“There’s probably a risk of transmission from the people who are right next to you, who you might be talking with, or where your face might be just a couple of feet away from someone else. But not beyond that.”
“Obviously, if somebody’s right next to you, theoretically, and sneezing on you or coughing on you for a long period of time even outdoors there is a risk, but in general the outdoors isn’t a very high-risk situation.”
What are the symptoms of Covid?
Lockdown has ended and restrictions have lifted, but Covid-19 is still prevalent in the UK with symptoms ranging from mild to severe.
Symptoms:
A high temperature or shiveringA new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hoursA loss or change to your sense of smell or tasteShortness of breathFeeling tired or exhaustedAn aching bodyA headacheA sore throatA blocked or runny noseLoss of appetiteDiarrheaFeeling sick or being sick
The NHS says most people with Covid-19 have mild illness and are able to recover at home without medical care within 14 days.
If you have severe symptoms which include trouble catching your breath, rapid breathing (taking more than 30 breaths in a minute), and low oxygen in the blood, then call emergency services.
If you are seeking help then warn the doctors and paramedics that there is a risk of infection.
MORE : I was the first female musician to play at Glastonbury 50 years ago
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