April 20, 2021
[Based in large part on guidelines from the UU Cong. of Duluth, MN and the UU of Reston, VA]
The spirit of our WUU congregation centers on caring for one another and the world around us. At this time, we are filled with hope at the speed of the continuing national vaccine rollout. Yet, even as we imagine a not-too-distant future where we can safely gather physically, we aren’t there yet. For the time being, we must continue to prioritize the health and safety of our members and our broader community as our congregation’s first priority. Though we must continue to limit physical contact, we are grateful that technological advances permit us to maintain contact, to express love and support for one another, in other ways.
The guidelines that follow recognize that there is no technological total substitute for being able to be and interact in physical presence with one another. Yet, we must manage a balance between social / psychological needs and physical risks in these challenging times.
We have developed five “Levels of Concern” determined by criteria based on metrics of disease prevalence, spread, and other factors. Within each level of concern, the guidelines identify acceptable degrees of physical gathering, alternative means of carrying out our WUU mission, and required precautions to limit spread of the virus.
The metrics we use are based on Covid Act Now, a nationally respected, multidisciplinary team of technologists, epidemiologists, health experts, and public policy leaders from Georgetown University Center for Global Health Science and Security, Stanford University Clinical Excellence Research Center, and Grand Rounds. They report figures and offer an interactive US map coded green, yellow, orange, or red to show overall risk levels, updated daily. We will focus on risk levels and trends in James City County, the City of Williamsburg, and York County, in order to reflect the conditions faced by the great majority of our members and friends. Based on the share of our members that reside in each, we will weight JCC 77%, Williamsburg 13%, and York 10%.
Vaccination rates and individuals’ vaccinated status are not yet incorporated into these levels of concern because there is still too much uncertainty. Variants are spreading, their susceptibility to being controlled by the vaccines is unknown, as is when the first people vaccinated will need to be re-vaccinated. We are currently right in the middle of the race of vaccine vs. variants, heavily influenced by Covid fatigue human behavior, and it is too early to make adjustments based on that degree of uncertainty.
Finally, we will continue to consider our existing renters’ use (and potential new rentals) on a case-by-case basis, as the risks and protocols associated with each rental vary substantially. We will continue to apply our UU principles through this decision-making.
Determining the Level of Concern
The level of concern is determined by the maximum level of any one indicator. The indicator values are based on the 7-day averages across the 3 affected counties.
For reference, current values as of April 20, 2021:
Adjustments at each Level of Concern
Each level of concern corresponds to necessary adjustments throughout our congregation’s mission. These are detailed below. In addition, we will continue to follow all guidance from the CDC and VDH and Executive Orders from the Governor.
