The CDC Guidelines and what you need to know
We’re all ready to get out of this quarantine. We never thought we’d be tired of working in pjs and staying at home, but I think we’ve all learned that you can have too much of a good thing. Of course, we also want to stay safe and not get infected or cause a second wave. Luckily for us, the CDC and their tireless experts have done their best to come up with a plan that limits exposure, gets better support for medical teams, and gets us to our new normal lives.
First, there are six checkpoints, or “gating criteria”. Each criteria has three phases, which have to each be completed before moving on to the next step. These can be implemented by tribe, county, state, whatever makes the most sense for that area.
Decrease in new cases
Decrease in Covid-like cases in the emergency room
Decrease in flu-like cases in the emergency room
Decrease in the number of SARS-CoV-2 positive tests
Treating a majority of patients without critical care resources
Setting up a robust testing program
The CDC is also creating and launching a large number of new resources to help keep hospitals and clinics running smoothly. They’ve even got a list of organizations that are at the most risk of spreading disease and being affected by the pandemic, from transportation workers to nursing homes, and have individual sites with recommendations for all of them. The most important things for reopening all business is to monitor for symptoms and keep things clean.
For schools, they recommend a “scaling up” procedure. First, focus on E-learning and provide virtual opportunities. Then, start opening but only for children in a specific geographical location. Finally, remain open with appropriate social distancing but only take students in-person from other areas that have also reached this third step. Throughout all of these steps, the CDC recommends teaching healthy hygiene to the students and continuing with thorough sanitizing and disinfecting.
For business, a similar process should be used where people can go in if social distancing can be properly implemented; anyone who is high risk should stay at home until told otherwise by their doctors. They should also make sure employees are practicing proper hygiene and that public areas are regularly and thoroughly disinfected.
For bars and restaurants (what we’re all really looking forward to), it’s a little trickier since they can get crowded quickly. Bars should stay closed and open slowly with only standing capacity, and employees should practice safe hygiene and regularly sanitize public spaces. Many restaurants in South Carolina are currently offering take-out and delivery or have opened with limited seating to ensure adequate distancing.
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Check back for updates as more guidelines are published! May 30, 2020