Meeting someone in the midst of a world-wide pandemic

Before you go on a date during the pandemic, get to know your potential partner before meeting up with them. Since the pandemic started, people have spent more time getting to know potential matches over dating apps and messaging sites before meeting face-to-face. 

If you both decide to have an in-person interaction, agree to take a COVID-19 test and share your results. 

Meet in a public place. Try to stay outdoors if you can, especially if this is someone you are meeting for the first time. You may have spent time talking and getting to know this person, it’s still a good idea to play it safe and meet in a place where other people will be around. 

Communicate your level of comfort with them. Try saying things like. “I’m really excited to see you, but I’d be the most comfortable if we stayed six-feet apart and wore masks.” 

If your date respects you and cares about you, there should be no problem in taking these precautions to keep the both of you safe during this time. 

If your date tries to make you compromise on your pandemic boundaries because they don’t believe the virus is “that bad.” That behavior exhibits a red flag.  

If your date doesn’t follow the boundaries you agreed on, that is another sign that they don’t respect you or your needs. If they aren’t respecting your boundaries,mind them of your needs and of the agreement you both made beforehand. If they refuse to accommodate or attempt to challenge your request, you can leave. You owe them nothing and the health and safety of you and the people you encounter is more important than a potential match. 

After the date is finished. Evaluate the date and determine if you should go on another one. Even if the date went successfully and you both followed the safety guidelines, you should plan to get tested again within the next week to ensure that nobody got sick from this outing. 

 If your date ended early because the safety guidelines weren’t followed, they may reach out again to try and reconcile the situation. You can handle in whatever way feels the best for you. Remember that you don’t need to apologize for expressing your needs. The people in your life should be willing to respect and honor your boundaries. This information was found on USUE’s webpage.