Let's Get Down to the Essentials
Hello there,
As COVID-19 continues to prompt more extensive travel restrictions, I want to provide some simple guidelines to consider before stepping out into your communities. The CDC has very specific recommendations on community-based travel, which I would like to share with our staff, especially those caring for our participants:
• Avoid close contact with those who are sick.
• Avoid all trains, planes, boats, public transport, and unnecessary travel.
• Avoid community gatherings of ten people or more people.
• Attending faith-based services should be suspended until further notice.
• Sit-down dining is now prohibited in the State of Maine. Delivery, drive-thru or carry-out is fine.
• Shopping malls, food courts, libraries, movie theaters, social clubs or any other places of communal gathering should be avoided.
While these restrictions may seem stringent, it is important to follow them to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly if you will be in close contact with people who are older adults or have severe chronic health conditions. These folks are at higher risk of getting sick.
With that said, there are many things that can be encouraged and are good for body, mind and spirit:
• Get some fresh air!
• Take walks around your neighborhood, being mindful of maintaining social distance of six feet
• Turn on some music and dance!
• Cook, bake or try some new recipes
• Arts and crafts
• Board games, cards and other kinds of parlor games
• Catch up on movies
• Send notes and letters to friends and loved ones
And, as always, follow the CDC’s recommendations for preventing spread:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after being out in the community, blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing.
• Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol and disinfect all frequently touched surfaces in your home and car.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
We appreciate your cooperation with these guidelines, and we appreciate the way you continue to care for our participants as if they were one of your own. We are all in this together, and together we shall prevail.
With thanks,
Matt Hickey