March 3, 2020
Dear TREE House of Greater St. Louis (TH) Participants, Families, Volunteers, and Staff:
With the spread of any illness, including the new coronavirus or COVID-19, we are always concerned about the welfare of participants and their families, volunteers, staff, and our herd. Obviously, the new coronavirus/COVID-19 is a very fluid situation that we must all be aware of – below are two sources of public health information that we wanted to share with you as we urge you to stay up to date and follow recommended guidance :
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Missouri Department of Health and Human Services – https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/ .
We also wanted to share with you and ask for your continued observance of the following strategies that are already in place at TH to help support a healthy environment for all and to reduce risk of infection from COVID-19, the flu or even the common cold:
– a strict emphasis on staying home when you are sick, or you think you may be sick until you are free of fever (100.4 F or greater using an oral thermometer), signs of a fever, and any other symptoms for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-altering medicines (e.g. cough suppressants);
– cough, sneeze, and respiratory etiquette (shield coughs and sneezes with tissue, elbow, or shoulder – not the bare hands);
– hand hygiene– clean hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60-95% alcohol, or wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Soap and water should be used preferentially if hands are visibly dirty; and
– routine environmental cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.
Furthermore, as some of the individuals involved at TH may have underlying health conditions which may increase the risk of adverse health complications from any illness (including COVID-19), we are acting with abundant caution to protect the health of all involved at TH and also ask that if you have recently traveled to any area, internationally or domestically, in which there has been a significant number of cases/community spread, that you refrain from coming to TH for a period of 14 days after your return. This is an evolving situation; however, this could include travel to places such as China, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Iran, among other locations internationally as well as domestically such as the Seattle area (additional information on risk assessment is available on CDC website). If you have recently traveled to any of the places mentioned above, or anywhere else that has reported a significant number of cases and/or increased risk, please contact us so that we can make arrangements.
As always, please do not visit TH if you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms and please seek care by calling your doctor/local health officials:
- Fever
- Chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Headache
- Body ache
We appreciate your support and understanding during this evolving situation that we must attend to together.
In health,
Nathan Harms, Executive Director
