How to Protect Yourself and Others – Social Distancing

 Submitted by Aimee Brown

In follow up to our blog yesterday and our July 28, 2021 blog post, the CDC updated their mask guidance and recommends wearing a mask regardless of one’s vaccination status.  At this time, there are no changes to our mask policy but we are encouraging everyone to use their best judgment about whether to wear a mask and when to do so.  Please refer to the blog post for more information.

In addition to wearing a mask and getting vaccinated, social distancing is another important safety measure in the fight against COVID.  The CDC page on How to Protect Yourself and Others recommends putting a 6 foot distance between yourself and people who don’t live in your household whenever possible.  The purpose is to prevent close contact and potential infection.

For COVID-19, a close contact is defined as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.  An infected person can spread COVID-19 starting from 48 hours (2 days) before the person has any symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19.  A person is still considered a close contact even if they were wearing a mask while they were around someone with COVID-19.

Staff are advised to maintain physical distance whenever possible and avoid gathering in close clusters (even if you’re vaccinated).  Social distancing ribbons are available from HR if you would like one.