Pivoting for Covid-19 Safety

BACKGROUND

Setbacks: Recently, there have been several covid-19 cases of people we know under circumstances that “should not” have led to infections. The apparent exposures were:

  • outside in full fresh air, but with no masks, and

  • inside with an N95 mask for 5-15 minutes

And we know from a previous case history (see Jan. 20, 2022 blog post) that “green zone” fresh air ventilation by itself, or with masks, is not enough to prevent covid-19 infection after prolonged contact.

Good news: on the other hand, we have support for two powerful tools for avoiding infections:

  • Daily antigen testing (see Aug. 5, 2022 blog post) for all people who will be together inside a building – negative results indicate that no one is currently contagious with covid-19.

Therefore, we have updated our company policy on covid-19 safety to increase air safety now and prepare for the expected winter surge. These are the same practices that are particularly appropriate for any short-term gathering of people such as one-time workshops and weekly or monthly sessions.


NEW COMPANY POLICY ON COVID-19 SAFETY:

In the office – primary measure:

  • daily antigen testing for each person in attendance

Supplemental measures – for good health in general:

  • fresh air levels above 30 cfm/person (CO2 below 800 ppm)

  • HEPA air filtration above 60 cfm/person

  • humidification in winter to reduce the count of any virus in the air – a new posting coming soon on this

Out of the office:

  • we all share the same approach of being active to avoid infection

  • wear a Safetulator Fresh Air Mask any time entering a building on company business

  • on personal business, some of us will check CO2 levels when going into buildings, leave quickly if they are “in the red”, and if they are “in the green”, we may stay for a couple of minutes without a mask. Others of us like to automatically wear a Safetulator mask and not use a meter.

Covid-19 testing (without symptoms):

  • the company provides antigen tests as needed by employees for use on work days

Return to in-person work after having covid-19 when we have:

  • three negative antigen tests (24 hours apart) AND

  • minimum 14 days after first symptoms (or positive PCR test)

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