Dear CIC Miami community,
In the past few months, you have heard from us several times on the impact of COVID-19 and our plans. Now that we are open for non-essential businesses, we have a few new details to update you on.
First, however, like many of you, I wanted to share that we have been thinking a great deal about the current events that have brought forth national and global discussions about race and equity. Like many, we found the murder of George Floyd profoundly disturbing and have recognized the need for our collective action to force change. We’ve shared some of our initial thoughts globally (here) and locally, and will continue to bring these conversations to the forefront of our work within innovation districts across the country and world. We are committed to our diversity, equity, and belonging efforts and as well as learning how to better support and engage with our clients and communities.
Amid all that is going on, it has added a little comfort to be able to return to our community of neighbors and partners and to discuss with many of you how to make Miami a stronger, more inclusive city. We have certainly appreciated seeing more of your faces around CIC since opening on June 1.
For those who haven’t been in yet, here’s a brief “tour” and sneak peek of what you can expect when you return to our space. In the weeks since we opened, we have been observing how clients in the space are adapting to new requirements and environments, and are so grateful to all of you for what has been a pretty smooth adjustment! CIC in Boston also made this one-minute video showing what things are like now, if you want to check that out.
Needless to say, thank you to all the CIC team members who made this possible and have spent the last weeks prepping for our return to the space!
Like me, I suspect you are watching the COVID statistics in South Florida; see here for the most up to date tracking we have been following. We are remaining in contact with local and state officials for continued clarity on the good news (the increases in testing, decrease in severity), and expected patterns overall. We are being very mindful of how our “new normal” behavioral policies are observed at CIC Miami, and are proud to be raising the bar as it pertains to safe workplaces.
We recognize that many people are still seeking to sort out when they feel ready to venture out again. Whenever you decide you are ready, we will be here for you, with the latest support and approaches to make you and your employees confident to be working together in person again.
Our hope is that when you come in, you will have a similar reaction to this client who just wrote us with this reaction last week:
Thank you for all the efforts for keeping us safe. I’m impressed with all the safety measures and rules. Every detail was designed thinking of us as clients of CIC. At the beginning, I was a little hesitant about beginning to work from CIC, but once I arrived, I felt safer than at my own house. I personally appreciate all the changes as they are designed to keep all of us safe and protected. Again, THANK YOU!
If we all stay mindful of safe spacing, and mask use where safe distancing is not possible, we ought to be able to maintain a trend like this in all locations. CIC has still had zero reports of anyone contracting COVID at a CIC facility, and we hope to keep it that way. Thank you for supporting these safety steps.
Onward and upwards,
DETAILED UPDATES
Virtual Q&A. We at CIC Miami will be hosting a client Q&A to give you all the opportunity to clarify what our new policies are and what they mean for your organization. We hope you have taken a thorough look at the Safety Protocols, and are here to answer any questions! This will be held next Friday, June 26 at 3pm. Please reach out to helpmemiami@cic.com for the link.
COVID testing. As you have all heard from us, we continue in “Phase 1” of our COVID testing offering. While we are all hopeful for near-term vaccines, an alternative available now is to provide employees COVID tests multiple times a week. We expect to launch “Phase 2” testing here in Massachusetts in a week or so. With this you and your employees can be tested a couple of times a week. These days it is done with a simple Q-tip-type swab you rub just inside your nostril. More information on our testing program is here, and you can express interest to participate here.
Mask coverings. As you have heard from us before, we made changes to the space to provide for safe spacing everywhere. In addition, we require face coverings in public spaces and anytime you are together with people from other companies. While now isn’t the right time, presuming the numbers start to trend back down again, we will consider what additional changes we can make to support your comfort and safety as our client community. One thing we would like to ask your help with: please do not take it on yourself to attempt to enforce safety policy on others. This is our job. If you see something that concerns you, let a CIC team member know.
Lunch room. Although our kitchens remain downscaled in our offerings at the moment, we have created a separate, enclosed lunch space on the 6th floor and 3rd floor. This limits mask-free spaces, and is available for any client to use for eating should you desire to use it.
Morning symptom checking. At CIC we also use a safety measure used by many (most?) organizations these days: a morning symptom check before coming to work. If you are coming in to work at CIC, we now ask you to do this and confirm to us that you have done it. You should have received an email with instructions about this – please let us know if you or your staff have not received it. We do not record any of this information, but we do know if you did it. You will receive an automated reminder on days you come in without completing the self check
Concierge. As a reminder, our Concierge is currently virtual, so your guests can check in on the first floor and interact with our team virtually or use our guest system iPad if they are already familiar with it. The big difference would be that we are asking that you pick up your guests or any deliveries on the first floor.
Contact tracing. We have set up a team across CIC to conduct any contact tracing that is necessary in the case that we have a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 on the premises.
Some things you don’t have to worry as much about. Experts believe you no longer have to be especially concerned about touch-based transmission, transmission after in-person interactions shorter than 15 minutes, transmission at a distance greater than 6 feet, and transmission over time due to the virus lingering in the air. People wonder about the latter two a lot. Massachusetts General Hospital recently wrote: “Epidemiological analyses of COVID-19 outbreaks and exposure investigations in healthcare settings have not demonstrated airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, i.e. there is little evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains infective over distance and time.” More info can be found here, here, and here.
Questions or concerns? Email helpmemiami@cic.com.
