Texas Medical Association List Shows Activities With Greatest COVID-19 Risks

A family wearing facemasks stands in front of a pizzeria in Austin, Texas, June 26, 2020. Governor, Greg Abbott issued an executive order on July 2 requiring all Texans to wear face-covering in public places. (Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images)

A group of Texas doctors released a ranked list of how risky certain activities are when it comes to contracting COVID-19.

The Texas Medical Association’s COVID-19 Task Force and Committee on Infectious Diseases listed 37 activities on a scale of 1 to 10.

It says that opening the mail has the lowest risk activity with a score of one, while going to a bar is “high risk” and scores a 9.

Other high-risk activities include working out at a gym, eating at a buffet, going to a theater, going to a concert, attending a religious service with 500 or more people, and going to a sports stadium. Traveling by plane, playing basketball and football, attending a wedding or funeral, hugging or shaking hands, and going to a barbershop or hair salon are also considered “moderate risk,” according to the association.

Some on social media noted that the list did not include protesting, coming several weeks after Black Lives Matter protests were held in numerous cities with tens of thousands of people.

“The levels are based on input from the physician members of the task force and the committee, who worked from the assumption that – no matter the activity – participants were taking as many safety precautions as they can,” according to the Texas Medical Association. It added: “And don’t forget to remind your patients that no matter what they do, it’s best if they stay home if possible, wear a mask and maintain at least 6 feet of distance when they have to go out, and practice safe hand hygiene.”

Health officials in Texas reported that 10,000 new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases on Tuesday.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas started reopening the state in May but has begun reversing course in recent weeks, ordering bars closed and mandating face coverings.

New York and Florida are the only other states to record more than 10,000 new cases in a single day. New York hit that grim total back in April, when New York City hospitals were overwhelmed and hundreds of people were dying every day. Florida topped 10,000 confirmed cases last week.

“We have rapid spread of COVID-19 in the state of Texas right now,” Abbott told San Antonio television station KENS.

Mayors in some of the biggest cities in the state—including Austin, San Antonio, and Houston—have warned that hospitals could soon become overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. Along the Texas-Mexico border, some cities imposed curfew orders in hopes of cutting down on large parties or social gatherings as cases have skyrocketed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.