In March 2020 all Nature Play group sessions went on hold to help stop the spread of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to keep our communities safe.  Now we are getting ready to resume sessions, with a few small changes to keep families safe.

Nature Play needs to be a safe place for everyone

100% Outdoor Benefits
Nature Play already ticks many boxes for making a safe environment when it comes to circulating infectious diseases.  Nature Play sessions are held in well-ventilated outdoor environments, which prove to dramatically reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus. As well, time spent outdoors in sunlight hours offers natural Vitamin D intake, strengthens immune function, decreases respiratory illnesses and the risk of infection from pathogens, including the COVID-19 virus.[1]

Check out our Covid-19 Safety Information and Covid-19 Response / New Safety Precautions here.

Covid-19 Safety Information

What is Covid-19?
Covid-19 is the disease caused by the virus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 
(SARS-CoV-2) (the virus and the disease it causes have two different names, just as HIV is a virus and AIDS is the disease).[2]  As the name suggests, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 is passed on through the respiratory system (nose and mouth) and caught through the respiratory system.

What are the symptoms if you have Covid-19?
Symptoms vary from person to person; some people can carry the virus with no symptoms at all, while others show one or more symptoms. The 3 main symptoms are 1/ a high temperature 2/ a new, continuous cough and 3/ a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.[3] Other symptoms include; sore throat, headaches, difficulty in breathing and diarrhoea.[4]

Infection Transmission
Covid-19 is predominantly transmitted during person-to-person contact with an infected person.[5] Infected airborne particles are expelled into the air, and caught by 1/ breathing in a viral load 2/ hand contact with contaminated objects, transferred when touching mouth, nose, or eyes.[6]

Studies have shown that in experimental conditions SARS-CoV-2 can contaminate objects hours after landing on certain surfaces. Up to 4 hours on copper, 24 hours on cardboard, 2–3 days on plastic and stainless steel,[7] 7 days on surgical mask material.[8]

Transmission is found to be higher in crowded gatherings, indoor environments with low ventilation and around activities that increase the production of respiratory droplets.[5][9]

Safety First
Transmission can be kept low when we take precautions, such as only meeting in small groups, in well-ventilated environments and only go out if we are well. To be safe we can keep at a distance where our own airborne particles won’t land on another person or their property, no sharing of food, drink or objects we use, clean our hands frequently (soap and water or hand sanitizer with at least 70% ethanol), along with growing strong and healthy immune systems.

Healthy immunity
While Covid-19 can be caught by anyone regardless of age, gender ethnicity, etc. There is, however, one group most at risk of finding Covid-19 fatal. The most at-risk group are those with a compromised immune system, this includes those with already underlying health issues.[10]

The immune system plays a major role in our survival in the environment we live in and begins to develop when we enter the world at birth. Within this major role, the immune system will; identifying threats to the body such as pathogens, toxins or allergens; respond to invading threats to return the body to a healthy state and it also builds a ‘memory’ for future protection.[11]

There are lots of things we can do to build, strengthen and maintain a healthy immune system, for example -

3 Ways to boost and strengthen your immune system –

• Eat nutritional food - a diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables[12]
• Daily physical exercise[12]
• Healthy Vitamin D levels[13]

3 things to avoid that weaken the immune system -

• Over sterile environments[14]
• Direct contact with sick people[12]
• Psychological stress states[15][16]

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Nature Play Covid-19 Response / New Safety Precautions
July 2020

Small Groups
We are capping numbers at sessions to ensure group-size is small and safe. Each session will take 6 adults (+ children) – booking essential, via the groups weekly Facebook Events.

Adult and Child Distancing Measures
We ask adults at sessions to observe the 2-meter social distance guidance with other adults. However, we do not expect children to socially distance while at Nature Play sessions.

Fit State
Please do not attend if anyone in your household is showing symptoms of Covid-19, or has knowingly been in contact with someone who has symptoms of Covid-19.

Food and drink
Previously, Nature Play sessions began with the sharing of tea and snacks – we now ask that you bring your own drink, snack and/or packed lunch and refrain from sharing these with other families.

Nature Play needs to be a safe place for everyone

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References
[1] ‘COVID-19 rapid evidence summary: vitamin D for COVID-19’
Evidence summary [ES28] / 29 June 2020
www.nice.org.uk/advice/es28/chapter/Key-messages

[2]'Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it'
www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it

[3] ‘Check if you or your child has coronavirus symptoms’
www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms

[4] ‘Symptoms of Coronavirus’
May 13, 2020
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/222/2/214/5841129

[5] ‘Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: implications for infection prevention precautions’ Scientific Brief / 9 July 2020
www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-implications-for-infection-prevention-precautions

[6] ‘Transmission of COVID-19’
www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/latest-evidence/transmission

[7] van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, Holbrook MG, Gamble A, Williamson BN, et al. Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020.35.Chin AH, Chu JTS, Perera MRA, Hui KPY, Yen H-L, Chan
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7121658

[8] ‘Coronaviruses’
General background / 30 June 2020)
www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/latest-evidence/coronaviruses

[9] Leclerc QJ, Fuller NM, Knight LE, Funk S, Knight GM, Group CC-W. What settings have been linked to SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters? Wellcome Open Res. 2020;5(83):83.

[10] ‘If You Are Immunocompromised, Protect Yourself From COVID-19’
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/immunocompromised.html

[11] ‘Overview of the Immune Response’
David D. Chaplin, M.D., Ph.D.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2923430

[12] ‘How to boost your immune system’
www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system

[13] ‘Vitamin effects on the immune system: vitamins A and D take centre stage’
J. Rodrigo Mora, Makoto Iwata, and Ulrich H. von Andrian
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2906676

[14] ‘Microbial Exposure During Early Life Has Persistent Effects on Natural Killer T Cell Function’
Torsten Olszak, Dingding An, Sebastian Zeissig, Miguel Pinilla Vera, Julia Richter, Andre Franke, Jonathan N. Glickman, Reiner Siebert, Rebecca M. Baron, Dennis L. Kasper, and Richard S. Blumberg
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3437652

[15] ‘Fight or flight’
www.nwbh.nhs.uk/healthandwellbeing/Pages/Fight-or-Flight.aspx

[16] ‘Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry’
Suzanne C. Segerstrom and Gregory E. Miller
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361287