COVID-19 Bulletin #2 – March 12, 2020

Last Updated: March 13, 2020

CIC COMMUNITY,

I wanted to reach out to you all again with an update on COVID-related topics.  

We continue to have no reports of COVID-19 in any of our facilities.

This said, we are working with outside advisors to finalize a protocol for what to do if/when that happens.  Please expect that you could be informed with short notice that your offices will not be available for a couple of days while we do a deep cleaning. Be prepared to take things you need with you on short notice.

THANK YOU for bearing with us as we work through this tough situation.  Shifting behaviors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our communities has been a remarkable collective effort.

Estimates continue to vary widely on ultimate spread of COVID-19, and much continues to be unknown.  What we do know is that we are all in this together. We have a responsibility to slow the spread of this disease, so that those who need critical care get it.  Our healthcare systems were not designed to handle this. So, thank you for your support of and adherence to our suggested safety measures.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COVID-19?

A major study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has helped us understand better who is at greatest risk.  Here is the source data, from China, as visualized by Andy Cotgreave:

So, does this mean that if you are not in a high-risk category, that you should not worry about this?  No. For two reasons: 1) you can become a carrier and infect those with much higher risk, and 2) If we are like other countries, the hospitals will be overloaded.  You should work to reduce the risk you need one of those beds. We have a collective responsibility to protect others in our communities, and part of that is protecting ourselves.

As you can see from the chart, some groups are indeed at significantly higher risk.  If you are in a high-risk category, as the disease spreads in your area the CDC strongly recommends that you socially isolate yourself until we know more about this disease, and have the resources to care for you.

WHAT SHOULD ALL OF US DO TO KEEP SAFE AND AVOID INFECTING OTHERS?

Once again, here are the things you can do to slow the spread of this disease:

• Tell us if you are diagnosed with COVID-19.

• Work from home when feasible, subject to your company’s policies.

• Take your temperature before coming to work.

• Stay home and self-quarantine for 14 days if you have symptoms / exposure risk.

• Go home if you develop the above symptoms during the day.

• Wash your hands frequently, don’t touch your face (see how hard this is)  

• Eliminate travel when and where possible. 

• Replace meetings and visits with video.

• Spread out in your workspace.

• Touch things less. Avoid shaking hands. Use a knuckle to call elevators.

The symptoms, again, to watch for are fever of 99.14+, cough, or shortness of breath. 

Also, while it may be obvious:

• Do not travel if you are sick.

• Keep some distance from people who are obviously sick. 

Cough etiquette: Infections mostly occur due to coughs and sneezes.  One sneeze can project 100,000 droplets, and travels at 100 miles per hour.  Cover your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough, and wash your hands or gel after.

What to do about allergies?  

As we enter the allergy season, if you are someone who typically uses allergy medication, subject to your physician’s advice, we strongly suggest you start your regimen now.  As many as half of COVID carriers are asymptomatic early on, but will spread the disease if they sneeze or cough, even if it is caused by allergies.  If you cannot control these symptoms through allergy medication, and find yourself coughing more than a couple of times a day, please refrain from coming in to the office. 

THINGS CIC IS DOING TO ENSURE SAFETY

Wellness stations are in place.  You have already seen our “CIC COVID-19 Wellness Stations” on each floor in the elevator lobby.  Use them every time you come in. We will also start introducing these in building main entrances. Other companies have started offering touchless forehead temperature checks at these stations.  We haven’t yet, but are considering it.

Large events are nearly all cancelled.  Both at CIC and everywhere.  As you saw in our last note, we recommended our partners to delay or cancel large events, and at this point nearly all have done so.  Any large gatherings must use special safety protocols.

Livestreaming equipment is here.  The CIC Events team has already conducted its first livestreaming group event from one of our event spaces.  Go digital! Contact your local events team if you would like to explore this.  

New cleaning regimen.  Our cleaning teams will disinfect commonly touched areas, listed in our comprehensive cleaning regimen, multiple times per day.

Things we are doing to help the CIC staff during this crisis.  CIC’s staff is CIC.  We are encouraging all staff with risk factors to not come in to work at all, and are identifying work they can do from home.  CIC has also altered its policies so no-one has economic pressure to work while sick. Like many companies, we are exploring dividing into alternating onsite and offsite shift teams, and will keep you abreast of this.  We are monitoring this day to day and will adjust as we go.
Thank you for being responsible during these difficult times.  If this situation in Italy today is any indicator of where we are headed, things are going to get a lot more difficult before they get better. We are sharing a unique moment in history.  Please take a moment to think about those you know who are most vulnerable, and what you can do to help them prepare.

Regards,

P.S.  This is a time to experiment with new ways to connect with your coworkers.  One such way is a product from a former CIC client called RemoteHQ that they have made free for CIC clients through June 1.  Its goal is to help distributed teams stay synced up. Check it out, and let us know what you think.  If you have other tips and suggestions like this, please pass them on.

For the latest updates on COVID-19 from CIC, please click here.