Final Version of CDC Reopening Guidelines – updated twice!!

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CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again May 2020. Apparently this 60-page document is the final version but it does not include guidance for houses of worship.

As of May 21: Reopening guidance for churches delayed after White House and CDC disagree

But there are currently no plans to issue guidance for religious institutions, according to three administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss policy decisions.

As of Friday afternoon, May 22: Interim Guidance for Administrators and Leaders of Community- and Faith-Based Organizations to Plan, Prepare, and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Note from the Diva:  Private sources have provided Guidance on Reopening Faith-Based  Organizations — it can  can be found on my other site, Disastersandfaith.wordpress.com

Crisis Exposes Hollowed Out Federal Government

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Whether or not you agree with the perspective of the author, it is important to note the many deficiencies of the federal government at the present time that are hindering the response to COVID-19.

Third Version of Reopening Guidance from the CDC

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On May 15 the WashPost noted, but was critical of, the final versions of short checklists published by the CDC.  The Diva suggests you reread the May 13 posting on this topic, which provided a longer, more thorough document –although not released officially by the CDC.

CDC offers brief checklists to guide businesses, schools and others on reopening

With hundreds of millions of people still seeking advice on resuming their lives safely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a scant six pages of recommendations Thursday to guide schools, businesses, day-care facilities and others into the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic.

The six checklists — which also address restaurants, mass transit and camps — come days, and in some cases weeks, after many states have begun to lift restrictions on their own. The advice is less detailed than draft recommendations the agency sent to the White House for review last month.

Additional details about what subjects are and are not included in this version of the guidance are provided in this article by the NY Times: C.D.C. Issues Reopening Checklists for Schools and Businesses

NOTE: The CDC does not address reopening faith-based organizations, but a 17 page guidance document for those organizations can be found on my other website: www.disastersandfaithwordpress.com.

“We Don’t Have a President or a Plan”

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From VOX: We don’t have a president, or a plan. 60 days into the coronavirus crisis, the White House does not have a plan, a framework, a philosophy, or a goal. Authors quotes several health experts. Some excerpts:

Here’s the truth: Lockdown is economically ruinous, and we can’t sustain it from now until a vaccine. And you don’t have to take it from me. “You can’t be in lockdown for 18 months,” says Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “We’ll destroy society as we know it, and we don’t know what we’ll accomplish with it.”

But this is also the truth: Reopening without a way to control the virus will be lethal to both human life and economic growth, as an escalating death toll will force states back into lockdown. “We can’t just let the virus go,” Osterholm says. “Lots of people will die and it’ll shut down our health system, not just for Covid patients, but for anyone with a health problem.”

“What we need,” Osterholm continues, “is a plan.”

Assessing Risk for Reopening Business – a handbook

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From HSDL: Assessing Risk for a Reopening Business Amidst COVID-19. As restrictions are gradually being lifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has released the Operational Toolkit for Businesses Considering Reopening or Expanding Operations in COVID-19. Businesses looking to resume operations can use this toolkit to assess and mitigate their risk of transmitting COVID-19.