AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Medical Association (TMA) has created a chart that ranks how risky certain activities are when it comes to spreading COVID-19.
At the top of the chart, in the low-risk category, TMA lists things like getting take-out from a restaurant, camping and playing tennis. Those activities get two out of 10 on the chart's scale.
Below those are the "moderate-low" activities, which get four out of 10 on the scale. Those include sitting in a doctor's waiting room or eating outside at a restaurant.
In the middle, in the "moderate risk" category, are things like going to a backyard barbecue, sending kids to a school, camp or daycare and swimming in a public pool.
Going to the salon and eating inside a restaurant register at seven out of 10 on the scale, meaning they are considered "moderate-high" risk activities.
The highest-risk activities, coming in at nine out of 10 on the scale, include working out at a gym, going to amusement parks, going to a religious service with more than 500 people or going to a bar.
Here's a full breakdown of how risky the following activities are on a scale of one to 10, according to the Texas Medical Association:
Low risk:
- Opening the mail: 1
- Getting restaurant takeout: 2
- Pumping gas: 2
- Playing tennis: 2
- Going camping: 2
Low-moderate risk:
- Grocery shopping: 3
- Going for a walk, run or bike ride with others: 3
- Playing golf: 3
- Staying at a hotel for two nights: 4
- Sitting in a doctor's waiting room: 4
- Going to a library or museum: 4
- Eating in a restaurant outside: 4
- Walking in a busy downtown area: 4
- Spending an hour at a playground: 4
Moderate risk:
- Having dinner at someone else's house: 5
- Attending a backyard barbecue: 5
- Going to a beach: 5
- Shopping at a mall: 5
- Sending kids to school, camp or daycare: 6
- Working a week in an office building: 6
- Swimming in a public pool: 6
- Visiting an elderly relative or friend in their home: 6
Moderate-high risk:
- Going to a hair salon or barbershop: 7
- Eating in a restaurant inside: 7
- Attending a wedding or funeral: 7
- Traveling by plane: 7
- Playing basketball: 7
- Playing football: 7
- Hugging or shaking hands when greeting a friend: 7
High risk:
- Eating at a buffet: 8
- Working out at a gym: 8
- Going to an amusement park: 8
- Going to a movie theater: 8
- Attending a large music concert: 9
- Going to a sports stadium: 9
- Attending a religious service with 500-plus worshipers: 9
- Going to a bar: 9
However, there is a caveat to the chart. Doctors came up with it based on the idea that everyone involved in any of these activities would be taking precautions like wearing masks and social distancing – which we know some people are not doing.
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
- Austin park amenities, facilities close indefinitely on July 6 due to spike in COVID-19 cases
- Texas Workforce Commission overpaid $32 million to 46,000 unemployed workers. Now it wants that money back
- More hospitalizations bring Austin-Travis County to the brink of shutdown again
- Gillespie County Sheriff's Office won't enforce mask mandate regardless of case count
- Here's what type of face mask you should be wearing, according to CDC
- Defenders Q&A: Are saliva swabs as reliable as nasal COVID-19 tests?
- Leaders concerned about ICU unit capacity in Austin area
- Austin mayor says future coronavirus 'numbers are scary if we don't change the trajectory'