It is a very traumatic and emotional time for everyone. One way to help cope with the hardships is to make new or preserve the friendships we had. While we shouldn’t be visiting friends as we have before, that doesn’t mean we can’t see or talk to them.

If you want to see friends it is smart and highly advised to wear a facial mask and stay several feet apart from one another (at least 6 feet).  If two people wear a mask and one is a carrier, there is only a 1.5% chance of catching the virus according to snopes.com. It is very unlikely you will spread it at all if you make no contact with one another and stay several feet apart.

Things you can do with friends while practicing the expected social distancing are walks, on either side of the side walk, or sitting on a friends lawn or at a public part several feet apart.

There are several virtual options for communication. Google offers video conference options, along with other platforms such as House Party, Zoom, and FaceTime (only accessible to Apple users).

Texting or calling are always good ways to talk to or check in on a friend, and most social media platforms have a communication feature.

It’s important now more than ever to try to check in on friends you haven’t heard from in a while.  Whether that entails just saying hello or really finding out what’s new with them, it’s very important to make sure everyone is doing okay. According to kff.org, almost half of adults polled reported a negative impact on their mental health due to COVID-19.