Going Green

Two months ago our governor announced a red/yellow/green phased reopening plan for our state. At the time, the entire state was red, and then each week, several counties at a time advanced to yellow and then green. As of this Friday, my county, and our whole region, will be in the green phase (never mind that we only just last week reached the rolling 14 day case count that was originally supposed to trigger the yellow phase...) A lot of people seem to be confused - green doesn't mean everything is back to the way it was before. It's just fewer restrictions on what can be open and how people can gather. It doesn't mean the virus is gone, and I think people are forgetting that.

As frustrated as I am with the fact that things here did reopen sooner than was originally intended, I'm proud that mine was one of three states recently cited for their continued downward trend of cases (even amidst increased testing).

Daily new cases in my state

Today at work we had a big town hall meeting about plans for reopening our site. Because I'm on our Site Operating Committee, I'd had a sneak peek of some of the plans and precautions being put in place, but there were some changes even from what I'd already seen (for example, everyone was going to be given a disposable mask upon entering the office each day - now they're asked to bring their own cloth face covering from home).

They're planning a phased reopening, based on when our county and region move to the state's green phase. Phase 1 will be 25% of people on site (though honestly, with all the restrictions, I don't think 25% of people will even want to go back). You will have to request each day you want to be on site, to ensure there is enough capacity and people are spread out throughout the facility (e.g. your entire building/floor can't go back on the same day). To return to site, you will have to take training on all the safety procedures. You need to perform a self-check health screening (basically, do you feel ok today?). There will be hand sanitizer stations throughout the site, surfaces will be cleaned regularly throughout the day and overnight, and you must wear a mask when not at your desk or otherwise separated from others by at least 6 feet. There will not be any electronic tracking, but you will need to log at the end of the day anyone with whom you were in close proximity for more than 15 minutes. (This is kept mostly private and purges after 16 days, but will be used for contact tracing if anyone does become infected during that time.) Office capacity goes up to 50% in phase 2 and 100% in phase 3, each with their own set of precautions.

The consensus from people I talked to during and after the meeting is that it's not worth going back at this point, with the amount of modifications and rules in place to keep people apart. One of my friends said, "This feels like all the worst parts of going to an office, and none of the good ones." I am so thankful that I work for a company that values science, reason, and research, and that respects us enough to take these massive steps and precautions to protect the people who do want or need to return to the office in order to do their job most effectively. I've always been a huge fan of my site and serve on committees, run activities, etc. to make it a better place that everyone wants to be. However, I still don't think I'll be back in the office anytime soon.