Consume and cover! Harvard instructs students on how to eat and drink with masks

 Harvard University, the home of people with high SAT scores, seems to think its elite students need some tutelage in table manners especially since everyone there must mask up even in the cafeteria/dining hall.

With face masks are required within indoor settings on campus, the “safe-behavior” recommendations from Dr. Giang T. Nguyen, Harvard’s health services executive director, include the quick-sip rule and consume and cover, which could give a new meaning to dine and dash.

Eating slowly, which is often good for digestion, seemingly means that students have to fiddle with their masks the entire time, pursuant to Harvard’s protocol.

“The science is clear. Masks work,” the physician insisted. “They protect you and those around you.”

Under a common-sense rubric, masks are also recommended for outdoor use in crowded scenarios.

Harvard, the prestigious and politically correct Ivy League institution (annual tuition, plus room and board, totaling about $70,000) that is seen as a gateway to a cushy, lucrative job in academia, government, or perhaps on CNN or MNSBC, has achieved a 90 percent-plus vaccination rate for employees and students.

It is nonetheless requiring regular testing for anyone authorized to be on the premises.

In his memo, Nguyen admitted that sitting down for a meal with friends or colleagues is “a cornerstone of human interaction,” but it should be done safely. The official is also discouraging working the room.

Follow the “Quick Sip Rule” when drinking. Lower your mask, take a sip, and then promptly cover your mouth and nose. A straw can make this more efficient. Do not linger with your mask down. If you wish to slowly savor a hot beverage, do it away from others.

Consume and cover! Consume your meal and immediately mask up when done. Conversation, checking your phone, and other activities should be masked, even when you are in a designated indoor dining area. If you are taking your time between bites (for conversation, for example), put your mask back on.

Dine in small parties of 2-to-4 people. Avoid table-hopping. Consider dining consistently with the same small group of people rather than a different group at every meal of the day.

Unvaccinated persons must “maintain distance from others when dining indoors,” and don a face covering outside whenever they are within six feet of anyone else, the guidance explains.

University executives have acknowledged that “to date, there has been no evidence of in-class transmission.” Harvard currently has a COVID-positive test rate of just 0.13 percent.

The memo, which some people might be tempted to think is a parody, also warns “thoughtfully socializing” students that when they’re just hanging out on weekends and during other forms of downtime, “Keep your close contacts to a minimum. The number of people who are less than 6 feet from you should be as low as possible. Engineer your activities with that in mind.”

“If you need to interact with many people in a single day, keep your mask on, limit each interaction to under 15 minutes, and don’t stand closer than necessary,” he added in his message to the university community that aims to keep Harvard healthy.