Dear WUU community,
How are you all doing with this latest round of Covid news? We hope you’re keeping safe and well. The Delta variant is very concerning, but we’re hopeful that with some adjustments to our Covid safety protocols, we can still go forward with our plans to more fully reopen the campus next month. We have updated the WUU website with a concise list of the current safety protocols.
Last week, we consulted with WUU’s Public Health Advisory Task Force, Dr. Camilla Buchanan, Dr. Chris Llewellyn, and Dr. Susan Marcinkus, on what we need to do to keep our community safe as we reopen. Here are the changes to our Covid safety protocols that WUU is implementing based on their recommendations, effective immediately:
1. Guidelines for the WUU campus
Indoors: Masks, except those with a medical exemption, and distancing of 3 feet between households are required at all times when others are present, regardless of vaccination status. No food or drink is permitted at meetings or events.
Outdoors: Masks are encouraged for vaccinated people, and strongly recommended for unvaccinated people.
The background: As you know, last week, the CDC released new data showing the Delta variant is much more contagious than earlier Covid strains, and can be easily transmitted by vaccinated people with breakthrough infections. Vaccinated people are still very unlikely to become seriously ill with Covid. We don’t yet know how likely vaccinated people are to contract a breakthrough infection, since the CDC had not been tracking that data. So far, the vast majority of vaccinated people who become infected with the Delta variant have had asymptomatic or mild cases. But the new data shows that vaccinated people with breakthrough infections can infect others as easily as unvaccinated people can.
The CDC now strongly recommends masking indoors, regardless of vaccinated status, in communities where transmission is substantial or high. Unfortunately, that’s us, at least for now. James City County and Williamsburg City are currently experiencing substantial transmission rates, with York, New Kent, and Charles City counties and Newport News all experiencing high rates.
Based on this information, to protect each other and the broader community, our WUU Public Health Advisory Task Force has unanimously urged us to return to masking and distancing of 3 feet between households for all indoor WUU events. They advise that surgical masks are preferred, or, at a minimum, double-layered cloth masks. We will continue to monitor the data so that we can relax these masking protocols as soon as it’s safe to do so. We look forward to a time when we won’t have to be so careful.
One more detail: when our worship team began to plan for leading worship from the sanctuary again, we envisioned that in-person worship leaders would take our masks off while speaking, so that we could be more easily understood. Now, however, our task force has advised us that all worship leaders in the sanctuary should remain masked. So that’s what we’ll be doing, for now. Captioning is always available on our YouTube feed for anyone who needs extra assistance.
2. In-person singing in worship will be limited.
Why: We’re still learning about what Delta will mean for safe singing. We don’t want to risk another outbreak by going back to full-voiced singing too soon.
So, for now, we’ll continue to use videos of hymns. In-person participants are welcome to hum along quietly. Rev. Laura adds: As a singer myself, this feels a bit strange and not what I was hoping for, but it’s temporary. And we’ll still be able to have live instrumental music in the sanctuary.
3. We are installing higher-quality air filters throughout the building.
Why: ASHRAE recommends the use of air filters with a MERV rating of 13 or higher to reduce the risk of Covid transmission. This is a simple, affordable way that we can increase safety in our building for all. We will be switching to MERV 13 filters throughout the building over the next few days.
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If you’ve made it this far, we most sincerely thank you for reading! These “unprecedented times” just keep getting more and more unprecedented. So many of us are tired of restrictions and long for a return to normal life. We certainly do.
As we navigate these uncertain times, our shared UU faith reminds us to take the time we need to care for ourselves and each other. While some of us are eager to return to an active and interactive life, others are hesitant or unable to do so. Here are a few suggestions that may help us navigate this divide.
- When we meet in person, we can be extra careful to ask for and receive permission before getting close or touching. Someone who welcomed a hug before the pandemic may not be comfortable with hugging now.
- We are all experiencing this situation differently. Sharing your story can be a powerful way for us to connect more strongly.
- If masking feels burdensome to you, consider that it might be exactly what others need to feel safe in our community. And if you’ve never stopped masking, consider that others may be frustrated about the need to start up again.
- Many of us have experienced stress or trauma during the pandemic. This can result in behavior that we may regret as we come back together. If that happens, let’s recognize it and move forward in good faith and with forgiveness.
We will be traveling this path with you. As one of our public health task force members reminded us, the way Covid evolves is out of our control. But we are grateful that, with a few practical precautions, we can still gather safely, in-person and online, as a beloved community of care, love, and service. Thank you all and hope to see you soon.
In faith and with love,
Your WUU Reopening Task Force
Rev. Laura Horton-Ludwig
Austen Petersen
Lola Warren
Dave Wilcox