“….health officials in Washington continue to report record COVID-19 hospitalizations, largely driven by omicron. Hospitals are struggling with high rates of hospitalizations, staff shortages and scarce testing supplies. The Washington National Guard will help staff hospitals and testing sites across the state in an effort to ease stresses on the health care system.” (The Seattle Times).
We’ve had more that a half a dozen staff and residents with recent COVID-19 infections. What to do on a personal level, being fully vaccinated, remains problematic. Here are a few thoughts and concerns:
- At one recent social event, eleven IDL residents were required to go into quarantine after exposure to a COVID infection. Reports from some quarantined residents say the experience has been truly awful (five days in strict quarantine; five days a bit less strict).
- Is it safe to have unmasked group dining events such as the Robert Burns dinner or Sky Opera dinner? The decision is yours to make, but please understand your risk of being placed under quarantine if you are at a table with someone who is later discovered to be infected.
- Should we have high quality masks available for purchase (about $1) within Skyline? Either at the Corner Store or via the Concierge?
- A number of our fellow residents are immunosuppressed: cancer, transplants, immunosuppressive drugs, etc. Our social responsibility is to protect them.
- It seems that we need to be cautious at the present moment, waiting for the wave of Omicron to peak and decline–we’re certainly not there yet.
I’m in agreement that Skyline should
have masks available for us to purchase.