In mid-July, images of fans camped out in the San Siro stadium area in Milan waiting for the gates to open for one of the concerts of the year, Taylor Swift’s, went viral on the web. It was hot, but the ‘Swifties’, devoted to the American singer-songwriter, were also hit by a water bomb and were able to experience first-hand the violence of climate changes. The life of a summer concertgoer can be tough. Beyond dehydration and problems related to sun and high temperaturesfood safety and difficulties in moving around large crowds, There are also infectious risks lurking.
In the ‘survival manual’ for the big events of the summer seasonprecisely for this reason, respiratory ‘bon ton’ also comes into play. “The first recommendation is that, if you have a cold, you are not feeling very well, you are coughing, sneezing or your throat is on fire, and you have to go to a concert because you have bought a ticket, it is a good idea to protect others by wearing a mask. There is nothing wrong with wearing it”, Matteo Bassetti, director of Infectious Diseases at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in Genoa, highlights to Adnkronos Salute.
A message also shared by virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, director of the School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Milan: “If you have respiratory symptoms, the mask would not be a bad thing, because when you are symptomatic – in the case of infectious diseases, whatever they may be (even Covid is seeing an increase) – you are contagious to others. Eventually giving up, even if it is easy to say, but more difficult to do”, he reflects.
A second recommendation, Bassetti lists, “is avoid temperature changes too important. For example, at concerts it happens that you go to buy a drink in places where there is air conditioning and then you go out in 40 degrees. Now, this can lead to congestion or other major problems on a general level”. And obviously if it rains “you need to have something to cover yourself, so bring raincoats, even plastic ones to use at the last moment, because getting wet and then being left in the cold doesn’t help”.
There are quite a few ‘institutional’ guides that are being distributed precisely in view of the mass events that take place much more often in the summer. Even the ECDC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, has issued public health advice, prepared with the WHO Europe and the French health authorities because it is aimed this time at the Paris 2024 Olympics, an event that will monopolize a lot of travel in the region. The guide for the Games contains information on how to protect yourself from various pathologies, such as respiratory diseases or diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks; suggestions on how to stay cool when it’s hot, on how to prevent sunstroke and stay hydrated. But also recommendations on the safety of the foods you consume, information on sexual health – with the invitation to use condoms and to be careful of the risk of sexually transmitted infections, including Mpox (monkeypox) – and on the consumption of alcohol and tobacco.
“In any case, moments of aggregation are welcome – Pregliasco remarks – concerts, events that respond to a desire to recover, especially on the part of young people, the sociality that was missing with Covid. It is clear that common sense is needed and is needed, with respect to hygiene rules that we learned during the pandemic and that are also useful for other pathologies. These are recommendations to be relaunched, together with the elements of attention on hydration, risk of heat stroke and other delicate situations that can occur especially in the queue and waiting phases”.
What should never be missing from the backpack of the perfect spectator? A hat to protect yourself from the strong sun, to which you risk being exposed for a long time during the queues to enter the event location. But also sunscreen to avoid sunburn, and when the sun goes down, mosquito repellent spray or sticks to avoid becoming the target of annoying bites. Then disinfectant gel, strategic in the absence of soap and water to take care of hand hygiene, light food suitable for high temperatures (so cooked and well preserved) and water to stay hydrated. And also tissues and wet wipes, a towel if you foresee the need to sit on grass or other spaces. Finally, to be prepared for changes in weather, so also in the case of sudden summer storms, bring an umbrella or raincoat.
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