COVID-safe prom? It’s better than nothing

This year’s high school proms will be like no other. Thanks to the pandemic, event plans are adapting to include safety concerns as well as the usual things like theme and food selection.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has issued guidance meant to help make planning a COVID-safe prom as easy and unobtrusive as possible.

The recommendations, of course, include things like masks and pre-event COVID screenings for attendees. They also suggest more onerous restrictions, such as keeping guests sequestered into small groups and prohibiting intermingling.

The state also recommends event planners ditch the dance part of prom.

“Consider alternate activities to dancing,” reads a portion of the recommendations. They don’t give suggestions for what those alternative activities might be.

If event planners decide dancing is a must, the state recommends dancers be kept in small “cohorts” with each cohort kept at least six feet from the others.

The recommendations could make for an awkward evening, but even a COVID-safe prom may be better than no prom at all. Last year’s seniors missed out on prom entirely as the state was still in the early days of the pandemic.

You can read more on MLive.