Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer
I was already planning to update you today about the status of County operations amid the pandemic – and then came news that President Trump and the First Lady have tested positive for the new coronavirus. We hope they, and the staff member also testing positive, will get through the infection without any ill effects.
It is a sobering reminder that the virus is still out there, still spreading, and everyone is susceptible.
Hitting the quarterly milestone of October puts us at just over half a year since our stay-at-home orders went into place, radically changing how we live and how all of us at the County work.
My “update” in this case is to let you know our current mode of operations will remain largely in place for now. With a few exceptions, we’re just not in a position yet to start looking at bringing employees to offices and opening doors to the public.
Besides making sure overall metrics for the region stay in the right direction, a couple things we want to see: the reopening of schools, from kindergartens to colleges, get safely underway. And how this flu season shapes up. The one-two of COVID-19 and the flu has public health professionals concerned, so we want to see how that unfolds. I’ll remind you we’re in the middle of providing free flu shots to employees, and I’m really hoping to see 100% of our workforce vaccinated. Here are details and the schedule.
We’re able to continue operating this way because we’ve made it work for our residents. You’ve made it work. The Teams meetings, conference calls, virtual this, that and the other thing. With all the challenges, you’ve still been able to deliver the exceptional service our customers deserve. If we can keep that up while avoiding the interactions that raise the risk of spreading the virus, we need to stick with it.
I can’t say enough how much I appreciate your service – always, but especially under these circumstances. Please continue to support each other as we all work toward achieving the public good.
