IT’S OKAY TO SAY ‘NO’ TO SOCIAL EVENTS DURING COVID-19

It’s ok to say NO. Recently, a friend from college invited one of us out for a gathering at their house with a relatively large group of family and other friends invited too. What would have once been a fun, exciting outing now pretty much put us in a difficult position of not being able to say ‘’no’’.  With the Covid cases still rising high in Malaysia, it was indeed a tough decision to make. All the more since our friend was staying in an apartment with lots of other people.

As much as we wanted to say ‘’no’’, we didn’t want to offend our friend. Instead, we casually reminded our friend that they should be very careful and practice social distancing, and if possible opt to invite a smaller group of people instead. So what should we do in a situation like this? Should we just say yes to the gathering despite our concerns. Should we reject invitations from friends and family due to the covid craze? Should we communicate our concerns, or just keep them to ourselves? After all, almost everyone is aware of the consequence of social gatherings, right? On the other hand, aren’t we all eager to see our family and friends again? But logically speaking, attending a social gathering isn’t exactly the best idea.

While it’s possible to plan a hangout with a person that’s somewhat safe, it definitely is inconvenient. Spending more than 15 minutes within 6 feet of another person increases your risk of catching and spreading COVID – especially if that person is being less cautious than you are. The decision to attend a social gathering solely depends on the factors below:

• Are you a high risk person who is more likely to get infected by COVID19?
• Do you live or care for someone who is high risk?
• Do you interact with people as part of your job? – such as in the clinic, grocery store or restaurant?
• Are you generally comfortable with taking the risk of getting infected by COVID19?
• Do you live with someone who is also comfortable with you taking the risk of getting infected by COVID19?

Well if you hear yourself saying more YES compared to NO based on the above, you should decline the invitation to go out. No one likes to say ‘’No’’ especially when we are invited to spend time with close family and friends, and some of us dislike it more than others. Here are some easy tips to remember if you’re about to say ‘’No’’ to an invitation:

1. The first thing you gotta remember before anything is to stay positive. Know that declining an invite doesn’t have to be negative. You can always start your response off on a positive note, such as by saying ‘’It’s great to hear from you!’’ and end one by saying ‘’I definitely miss hanging out with you! We should do a video call soon!’’
2. Make your response real, short and sweet. If you don’t want to beat around the bush, go straight to the point and say something like  - ‘’While I’d love to see you, I’m avoiding gatherings due to COVID right now. Perhaps we can plan something out once the numbers start to stabilize a little.
3. Keep your response honest. While it may be tempting to limit the awkwardness by making up fake plans which might not work well when the person offers you an alternative date and time, which will make you feel like you eventually have to say ‘’yes’’. Always remember, that the foundation of a healthy friendship is honesty.

​Here are other alternatives you can say ‘’NO’’ to too:

• Gyms – Gyms are places you can go to by choice. If you want to be on the safe side, and take extra measures during this COVID season, you can always opt to doing home workouts, or even watch video tutorials on YouTube to try at home. Alternatively, you can also go for jogging around your neighbourhood or even do yoga and cycling.
• Eating Out – Though the SOP now includes limited number of pax per table – depending on the size of the table. If everyone is going to dine out in small numbers in a small space then the risk is still high. What you can do is to order in, there are so many food delivery apps that you can try, two of the well-known food delivery apps include GrabFood and FoodPanda. If you wanna go healthy, you can make your own food. All you need to do is to look for the recipes online and try your hand at it. We’re super lucky to have our in-house chef at Fixie Dust, Tanith who never fails to cook for us super finger-licking good food.
• Social Events -  With all the festive seasons kicking in, and people still inviting for open houses, and gatherings it’s difficult to say no. One thing you gotta always remember is that it is through social events that we mostly see a spike in the COVID cases. Be careful, and it is advisable to choose a safer option, by doing a virtual social gathering via video call.

That’s all from us this time, stay at home unless you absolutely need to do something. Also don’t be afraid to go through road blocks (If you got surat kerja lahh 😉). Do your part and the rest will fall into place soon, including the decrease in COVID cases. #KitaJagaKita

Xoxo,
Your Pixies