With the recent start of school and students coming back to campus, it came as no surprise that COVID-19 cases would rise.

After irresponsible decisions within the first weekend of students returning to Ames, many fear that cases will soon rise and jeopardize the rest of the fall semester. 

Whether your classes are in-person and require you to make the trek to campus everyday, exposing yourself to others, or your classes are entirely online and you only leave for essential errands (go you!), here are some simple tips to (hopefully) remain in good health. 

Wash Your Mask

While this may seem like common sense at this point, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends washing masks after each use. This could mean washing your masks with your regular laundry or hand washing more sensitive masks, like cotton and handmade ones. 

Using either bleach or laundry detergent, hand washing your masks and hanging them to dry is a good way to ensure they’re getting cleaned thoroughly. 

Take Immunity Vitamins

Taking immunity vitamins helps build up your immune system and give you the necessary additives to tackle your day. Popular immunity vitamin brands include Olly, HelloBello or Ritual. 

Most immunity vitamin supplements include elderberry, which is often used to prevent flu and cold-like symptoms. Elderberry also helps to decrease stress, calm inflammation and improve and protect heart health. 

Stay Home 

This tip has proven to be tried and true throughout the course of the pandemic. Most “normal” activities are either postponed or compromised due to social distancing and mask requirements, making the allure to stay home all the more present. 

However, boredom is often the culprit of wanting to do anything besides staying home. Some ideas for when you want to have a little fun without leaving the house are: 

• Host a game night with your roommates — bracket, winners and all

• Create your own version of the Great British Bake Off. Name judges and get creative with the recipes you create. 

• Host a themed movie night. Watching 80s movies? Dress up like Cher and Dion or Ferris and Cameron. Horrors? Dress up like your favorite damsel in distress and slasher combo. 

Staying safe and doing your part to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 probably doesn’t seem exciting, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Being conscious of your health is easier than you might think. Keeping your mask and other belongings clean, taking care of your physical health and following social distancing guidelines are an easy place to start.