Q & A August 6, 2020

Today we were joined by Aimee Brown to cover staff procedures regarding COVID. Below is a transcript of her excellent presentation.

Our number one goal is to keep staff and volunteers safe.  Since March, we’ve had to transition from the initial shock of the pandemic to where we are today, which is learning to live and co-exist with COVID-19.  We created the COVID Procedures Manual as a resource to you.  This is a living document and can and will likely change as new information is learned or released. 

Today I’m going to start by highlighting some of our safety protocols, then I’ll give you a recap of key points of the COVID Procedures Manual, and then we’ll open the floor up to your questions.

Let’s walk through some of our daily routines and safety measures. We are:

·         Wearing masks, washing our hands, and conducting temperature checks. 

• Adhering to social distancing measures by keeping distance between ourselves and others as well as limiting the amount of time spent with others in the workplace.
• Frequently sanitizing and disinfecting high-touch surfaces.
• Limiting seating areas, moving workstations to increase physical distance, providing Plexiglas and other barriers, and using signage, tape and other visual cues to indicate physical distance.

In April, Sarah Reynolds took on the added role of COVID Coordinator and constructed the basis of the COVID Procedures manual and decision tree that was distributed yesterday.

And most importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank all of you for doing your part to participate in these safety practices and protocols.  No one can guarantee zero risk but together we can do our part to help stop the spread of this illness.

If you have a copy of the COVID Procedure Manual in front of you, I want to make sure that you don’t skip over the definitions page.  It’s important to understand how the CDC defines close contact, social distancing, and contact tracing and to understand the difference between isolation and quarantine. Page 2 provides our HR contact info.  It would be a great idea to snap a picture of it to have it handy as well as making sure that you have your supervisors’ contact info in your phone.

The manual includes our Policy regarding Contagious Symptoms and Contagious Condition.  Staff and volunteers are reminded to stay home if you or a household member are not feeling well.  If you start to not feel well during the day, you should go home immediately.  By staying home and seeking medical advice, you are doing your part to keep the workplace and those around you safe while you seek medical care.  Keep in mind that not everyone who is staying home or told to go home has COVID-19.  We are acting out of an abundance of caution and being proactive in doing this.

Beginning on page 7, the COVID manual outlines 4 typical scenarios and provides procedures for each.  The manual is not intended to account for every situation, and nearly every case will need to be looked at individually.   

The procedures are intended to isolate someone who has been exposed to COVID-19 or someone who could have COVID-19 from infecting others.  What we have been seeing so far is a combination of people not feeling well and seeking medical advice or people who feel fine but learn that they have been directly exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.  We are also seeing people who have a household member who is not feeling well. 

So, what should you do if you learn that you were in close, extended contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?  The CDC defines close contact as being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before illness onset. 

If this or any of the other scenarios in the manual applies to you, we need you to stay home and seek medical advice.  Do not enter the workplace.  Contact HR and your supervisor as soon as possible and we can talk out next steps.  If you are told to stay home, you should be prepared to let us know who you were in close, extended contact with at work in the previous 48 hours.  This information will be helpful if you test positive. 

This leads us to the biggest concern that we all have which is “When will I know if I’ve been exposed in the workplace?”  The short answer is that we will follow the CDC guidelines and as soon as we know that a staff member or volunteer has tested positive, we will contact those people that they had identified as having had close contact with at work in the 48 hours prior to symptom onset or notice of exposure, whichever the case may be.   

If you are following the safety protocols that I mentioned earlier, and in particular, wearing your masks correctly, frequently washing your hands, keeping a physical distance between yourself and others, and limiting the time you spend in close proximity with your co-workers and others, you are proactively taking steps to reduce the risk of inadvertently infecting those around you as well as reducing your risk of exposure from others.

We’ve included procedures for managers and supervisors. They will have already been working with HR to develop a list of people who may have been exposed and identifying areas requiring additional cleaning and disinfection according to CDC guidelines.  HR and supervisors cannot disclose any information about people who are awaiting test results, anyone who tests positive, or reveal any other medical information.  If you wish to voluntarily disclose or share your situation with others, that’s up to you.

With regards to returning to work:  Employees may not return to work until the criteria to discontinue quarantine or isolation are met.  Your medical provider and Human Resources will work with you to determine when you may return to work. 

What I will say is that for those who test positive for COVID-19, the CDC is no longer recommending a test-based strategy to determine when you can discontinue home isolation.  Instead, they are relying on a symptom-based strategy.  On the flipside, if you are under quarantine, meaning you stayed home but had no illness or symptoms during your quarantine period, generally you may return to work after 14-days.  This period assumes that you had no further contact with a COVID positive person during that timeframe.  I will point out that additional restrictions apply if you are caring for an infected person in the household. 

Once it is determined that you may return to work, you will submit a COVID Self-Certification Return to Work form.  HR will provide you with a copy of the form. 

As a side note, pages 12-15 give some great examples from the CDC page that help explain when you may discontinue isolation or quarantine.

In addition to the frequent sanitizing that locations are using, it’s important that we all make sure that our personal work areas and office areas are sanitized regularly as well.  Anyone performing cleaning duties should wear a face mask and gloves and use proper disinfectants. 

If someone is sent home, that person’s office or work area should be closed off if possible for at least 24 hours before cleaning or disinfecting.  Other areas used by the person who is sick should be cleaned as well.

Finally, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCRA, provides covered employees with up to 2 weeks of paid sick leave if the employee is unable to work due to certain qualifying reasons related to COVID-19.  HR will work with you to see if you qualify and will assist you with completing any necessary forms.

If my child is sent home and told to quarantine because of potential exposure from a classmate who tested positive for COVID, do I need to quarantine too?

In this situation, that would be indirect contact and you would not need to stay home UNLESS childcare is necessary. If your child began to develop symptoms, that would change the situation and you should contact HR to talk through the situation.

How will we handle regular cold and flu season? The symptoms are often the same as COVID, so will staff be required to get a COVID test or quarantine until symptoms subside?

The short answer is stay home and seek medical advice. There are other contagious illnesses besides COVID-19, and we do not want to share any of them with coworkers or patrons.  Our personnel policy states medical documentation may be required for absences more than 3 days, but please do not stress about this. In our current situation we are not going to expect or require documentation, as we do not want to require someone to go to the doctor unnecessarily nor do we want to overwhelm the medical field. We adopted the Contagious Symptoms and Contagious Condition Policy in March to give us flexibility in dealing with this pandemic.

 

Staff who have been required to stay home have initially been doing virtual visits with their medical provider to talk about symptoms and then determining whether COVID screening is necessary. If you are not feeling well for any reason, please contact your supervisor and/or Human Resources and we will work through it together.

Elise mentioned that staff may want to consider a flu vaccine this year. Vaccines will be available starting in September.

We recognize that patron interactions at the desk can cause anxiety and we have received a few suggestions on how we could minimize those interactions. First, we are adjusting all patron records that have address blocks and moving the check date out two years. Moving forward, we will set the address check to two years as well. Of course, we do want to ensure that we have correct contact information for patrons, so please continue to ask patrons if we have their correct contact information as you work with them. We also want to clarify that just because a patron has a fine of $10 or more, they still have access to eResources. The only thing they cannot do is check out physical materials.

Recently, branches have been receiving lots of calls about items going to lost and adding replacement costs to patron accounts. Holly generated a list of patrons whose accounts have been affected from March to August. Sarah, Joanie, Trina, and Mendy have divided this list and will contact patrons via phone to inform them of the charges and discuss how to return the items and get their accounts in good standing again. We started yesterday and the feedback has been very positive. Patrons appreciate the proactive measure and our flexibility. If the patron informs us they do indeed have the items, we place them back on their record, waive any fines, and encourage them to return the items to the branch. A surprising number of patrons did not realize we were open and could return their materials.

If the patron has truly lost the items, those charges will remain on their account and we would treat them as we would have pre-COVID. If there are fines, work with the patron to resolve the situation, even if that means waiving larger amounts than you are normally accustomed to. Keep in mind that we prioritize getting materials back rather than fines paid.

Why are we not requiring patrons to wear masks?

Legal counsel for Forsyth County has advised us that we cannot require patrons to wear a mask because we are a public entity. Governor Kemp’s executive order precludes government entities from placing restrictions that are stricter than the ones currently provided by the state. Additionally, our Board is not comfortable requiring patrons to wear masks. We also do not want to put staff in a confrontational position with a patron, especially in the current environment. We can require patrons to wear a mask if they need assistance that requires close contact. In that case, staff should let the patron know of the expectation, and offer a mask; if the patron refuses to wear the mask, the staff member may politely decline assistance.

If a visitor to the library has made the decision not to wear a mask while in the branch, staff should not try to convince them that they should. Staff should give them a wide berth and assist them as best they can from at least 6 feet away. Unfortunately, we all need to accept the fact that there will always be people not wearing masks. While we cannot control the behaviors and choices of others, we can control ours and continue to practice social distancing.

Are we were planning to return to limiting library capacity?

What is FCPL doing to encourage students not to stay multiple hours and in groups?

How should staff handle virtual learners whose parents have dropped them off at the library for the day?

When we reopened in June we intentionally chose a conservative maximum capacity for each branch – 30 for Hampton Park, Cumming and Post Road, and 50 for Sharon Forks. We did this so we could evaluate how 30 people or 50 people spread throughout a large building worked in terms of social distancing. What we learned is that concentration in areas is most important. For example, 50 patrons in the juvenile area at Sharon Forks looks very different than 50 patrons spread throughout the building. Supervisors are continually monitoring the concentration of patrons in specific areas, and we have yet to reach a point where we have had to enforce limitations.

Once school starts, we will go back to having greeters at the door as we had in June. We will inform patrons as they enter the building that things look a bit different than they did last school year – tables are spread out, there are fewer seating options, and the expectation is that visits will be 30 minutes or less.

If patrons have been in the library for more than 30 minutes and we are not exceeding our comfort level in regards to capacity, they can stay. This could apply to individuals, families, or small groups, including tutors and students.

While every patron entering the branches will be informed of our expectations, our approach during the school year is a little different than it was during the summer, when we first reopened our doors. We need to recognize that the reasons patrons are using the library during the school year are often different than the reasons they use it during the summer, and we are adjusting our practices and expectations for patron behavior accordingly. Our practices will involve more flexibility from staff, and we are counting on branch supervisors to use their best judgment to create and maintain atmospheres that are both welcoming and safe for patrons and staff.

What should CSAs do when they are shelving in an area that becomes crowded?

CSAs or any staff who are out in the stacks should be careful about maintaining social distance from patrons for the protection of both staff and patrons. Move to another area if it becomes congested and return to that task later when it is less crowded. Cristie has suggested using a book cart to help create a natural barrier to help ensure proper distance between staff and browsing patrons.

Remember to practice social distancing with your coworkers as well. We all spend so much time together that it is easy to get comfortable and forget, but we should treat everyone as if they could have the virus.