Steering minutes: 2021-04-17

Agenda:

Steering Meeting Minutes
2021-04-10

Attendance:
Willie, Mary King, Patti, Sharon, Susan, Dan, Debbi, Syndallas, Amy Harris,
Dale, Eric M, Gail G, Malcolm, Marta, Suzette, Judith, Kelly, Tevah, Polly,
Annie

Agenda:
Chief Scientist Review
Review of who is responsible for COVID planning at GO?
Specifics of covid and CH stuff
Work season and CH champions
sanitizing requirement
CH spring work day jobs
announcements
evaluations


One thing that you miss about our CH.
- hanging out after meals
- the meal program - nearly everyone said this
- using the kitchen to clean stuff
- being able to host game day
- the smell of meals, when getting mail
- being able to freely come & go
- yoga classes in exercise room
- meeting friends in sitting
- miss the variety of meals that are offered, in a food rut!
- kids playing in playroom and running around while eating, sneaky snakes
- everything: playing the piano, meetings in game room
- meditating
- regular schedule for meals, and sick of cooking
- tired of doing dishes
- miss cooking for everybody


Chief Scientist Review

Minutes:

Every Tuesday slides are reviewed for Governor's office
Color coded for risk, etc. Right now every region in the state is getting
an "E", the
number of cases is terrible, elevated growth, etc.
The positivity rate is increasing right now. We are right back at the stage
in December.
This is really depressing for those who are working to minimize the spread.
One of the big reasons is that we're dealing with the high intensity
variant.
Older people, those who are older than 60 are not getting ill as much,
they're vaccinated.
The people who are getting it are 20-50 year olds. We're at 5-600 new cases
a day,
this is not good. We're nearly doubling every week.
The B.1.1.7 variant is pretty much taking over the covid cases. Michigan is
competing with
Florida, Colorado and California for most cases. These variants spread more
quickly, more
easily. The vaccines are doing pretty well against these variants, they're
mostly looking
to see if it causes serious cases... you can still get sick, but there's
good evidence that
people who have the vaccine aren't getting seriously ill.
Mostly the cases are coming from K-12 schools, construction, assisted
living, etc. Primarily
the school systems and high school sports in particular.
Often this means getting to the parents, who are not 65 and older, so this
leads to more spread
through other channels. They've broken down by the type of sports. Coaches
have been pushing
back, even on testing. Biggest offender is basketball right now.
The trends in the ER visits is showing that about 10% is for covid-like
illnesses.
Increasing hospital admissions, trailing the infection by about a week or
so. This is just
the beginning of a curve that will keep going. Not isolated to just the
older set, but is
affecting all ages. One optimistic sign is that the older set is not
accelerating as fast,
likely because they have more vaccination. They anticipate that in the next
few days
we'll be exceeding the hospitalization rate from December.
We have covid fatigue, we're tired of paying attention to this, and have
other things that
we would like to do, including travel. These variants are beating us at our
efforts.
This is tipping the scales relative to all of the great things that we've
been doing to fight
the virus. We should be weighing these things. What can we still do
outside, and masking and
distancing? If are vaccinated and inhale the virus, we don't yet know how
much you could
spread it to your unvaccinated friends and family. I don't know if we as a
community have
a tolerance for sharing vaccination in order to determine if we've reached
herd immunity.

This is what Sharon was predicting a couple months ago when this variant
started arising.

Questions:
Malcolm - I saw data showing B.1.1.7 was an extended infectivity period,
spreading for 50% longer.
Yes, that is my understanding as well, but it also seems to "latch onto"
people a bit more
effectively. You're more infectious longer. Is double masking part of
"masking theater"?

I saw the vaccines reduce infectivity by about 70-80%. The problem with
these numbers is
that they're very hopeful. On a population level, it's quite good. However,
for a community,
it can just take 1 person and then it could spread to all of those folks
who are not fully
vaccinated. Sharon is blown away at how good the MRNA vaccines really are,
she was nervous.

Amy - struck by the difference in how the governor is responding. What is
going on with that?
It's all politics. Her ability to actually do this kind of stricter
approach in the past,
her hands have been tied by the Michigan legislature. Can the health
department take steps?
They could do pieces of it. Robert Gordon basically quit over restaurants
opening how they did.
His replacement was a partner of a Republican state legislator. She's going
to be right in-line
with the Republican thinking.

Syndallas - I go to a lot of track practices. I want to have something to
say to them.
They see wrestling happening. All of the track participation is happening
outside. I think a lot of things are tied to
carpooling and social events. I'm surprised that the coaches have not
communicated about
a 2 week hiatus. What is the right thing to do right now? Should we listen
to the governor
and take a 2 week break? There is a lot of evidence that when we take a
break, it does
make a difference in reduction. There could be a pivot to "no carpools".
There is no way
that the virus can be shared outside of your pod. It's mind blowing that
people aren't
getting that they're causing this. Susan - recently heard a radio piece,
head of Michigan's
pediatric physicians and demanded that Michigan sports be shut down
immediately. They're
riding buses, getting together in meetings and shouting, yelling, they're
at the root at
the increase of the spread, particularly of the variants. When this report
was made, the
Republican legislature silenced it. So he got interviewed by NPR and
announced that this was
a very serious problem. The right thing to do right now is to take a 2 week
break. Perhaps
track down the interview and send it to the coach. There are a lot of good
people who are
getting a lot of pressure from different angles. People are fed up.

Polly - Sharon hasn't seen as much data about the J&J vaccine, so she's
uncertain about it.
There's good evidence that it keeps people from getting severe disease.
She's pretty
confident that it wouldn't get out if it wasn't good. Malcolm - J&J is
pretty good, but
the other options are better.


Review of who is responsible for COVID planning at GO?
----------
Steering committee is the deciding body for how we move through any
reopening process and
covid restrictions to shared facilities. The re-opening task force makes
recommendations,
but they're not the deciders. They're staying on top of the governor's
office and the CDC.

I'm just as tired about this as anyone else, but am frustrated by some of
the discussion
happening on talk, we're not making decisions based on an email chain. I
look forward to
hearing from the re-opening taskforce and the CH champions.


Specifics of covid and CH stuff
----------
Syndallas - there are 5 folks who have stepped up to be CH champions. Most
of this will
likely be front-end work, for example different rooms have plans that will
be brought
forward for approval.
Bruno, Nikki, Syndallas and 2 teenagers. Teens are more likely to get
nailed by the
community, so we would like to remain respectful. Take the re-opening plan
from December
and see if there are any considerations which need to change. Look over
signage, make sure
that it's accurate. Hiring of a cleaner, if still required. Then
coordinating with other
folks in the CH, making sure that everyone has what it needs and that our
system is
working.

Mary appreciates all the hours that she and the others have been putting
into this. She
hopes that everyone is willing to support this effort.


Work season and CH champions
----------
Now that we have 5 CH champions, a question arose around whether our
sanitizing regiment is
fit to purpose right now. CDC says that fomite transmission is not that big
of a concern.

sanitizing requirement
----------
Nearly a year ago, there wasn't much detail in the sanitization routine. We
felt this was
a way of protecting the rest of us in case someone gets the disease, since
people can get infected
and carry it around and spread it for days without knowing it. It's quite
likely that 1 or
more of us have it asymptomatically. Sharon would feel terrible if we
dropped this and
found that someone had it. We're not going around and licking doorknobs. I
just feel nervous
about us dropping this. The CDC has had mixed messages, but they haven't
said "don't do it".
It would be different if it weren't a public space.

Syndallas read the new guidance for community buildings on Monday. They do
say that highly
touched surfaces should be cleaned with soap & water on a regular basis.
They're not saying
"don't clean the CH". IF we're working with guidance, then we need to
actually read the
guidance. It's not as clear cut, they don't explicitly say "go back to your
previous practice".

We passed in our budget funds to hire a professional cleaner. We now have a
gang who are
willing to monitor and some folks who are willing to be champions for a
couple rooms. Maybe we
should just move forward with that plan and see how it goes.

Malcolm - the thing to recognize with this fomite business, it's not
dependent on the number
of cases around. Everyone wanted to be extra careful at the beginning, and
clean everything.
The data is now saying that cleaning surfaces is virtually useless, we're
seeing that the
numbers are going up, and we want to do something. We should be above board
about this, and
realize that we're not making a big difference.

Debbi - in the work survey, were there jobs for sanitization? Yes, there
are, the work
allocation will be tomorrow, and they'll be assigned.

Sharon - one of the reasons to not change what we're doing is that it sends
a different
signal, and people extrapolate, and when we release one thing, then we tend
to lighten up
on other things.

Mary - it seems like we made some changes to things that we won't change,
like how we use
the laundry room. Also, people paying close attention to washing of their
hands for the
first time of their lives, has made a big difference in knocking down
disease. I have been
appalled at the condition of the CH in the past. We have some money to do
this, and maybe
there are some unintended outcomes that we'll find. There are likely
unexpected benefits
beyond covid.

Even though some people are fully or partially vaccinated, we should
continue wearing masks.
To send a message. The CDC is still saying that we need to be paying
attention to surfaces
in one way or another.

Malcolm - the primary reduction of infections this past year comes down to
masking. The
evidence that it came down to washing of surfaces or hands is basically
non-existent.

Syndallas - having the guidance and using that as our center tent pole is
going to reduce
conflict in our community during this odd time. The moment that we decide
to make up our
own rules, is when it's going to become more difficult. The My OSHA
guidance provides
a backup for everyone, and if you move beyond that, you wade into opinions
and into the
quagmire.

Dan - we don't have a specific proposal that we're reacting to. I don't
think there's
anything here that we need to vote on.

Mary - We have agreements in place, if there is a desire to do something
different,
then someone would need to bring a proposal.


CH spring work day jobs
----------
People who are honchoing the spring work day are looking for guidance on
how to negotiate
CH jobs. How can we help facilitate that for the honchos in order to give
guidance to workers?

Sharon - We should stay where we've been - only 1 household at a time in
the CH. Mindfulness that it
takes only 1 person getting really sick to make everyone regret what you're
doing. I suggest
taking the tasks and making it a longer trail... give more time before and
after chores to
allow them to happen. So that it doesn't just take 1 weekend, but perhaps 3
weekends so that
we're not making each other sick.

Mary - there is space in there, a family pod could clean the kitchen. A
group could be cleaning the
east bathroom, and another in the west bathroom, they would be spread out...

How should we think about the workday?

Is steering likely to be meeting during the first work day?
April 24th, there is a conflict with a steering meeting.
May 2nd is the other.
Debbi doesn't have any plans, but Steering has been doing more
reaction-based scheduling.
Probably not, but we don't know.

If the workday coordinators have jobs, they could share a plan with the
ad-hoc champions to
work things out. Syndallas is happy to be a point person for managing that.
We could just
trouble-shoot that. Dan will let her know that the ad-hoc committee will
let her know that
they could help on logistics. We already have systems and rules in place to
manage that.

Next steps
------------
Limiting entrance to vaccinated people? CH passports?
Summer BBQ could use some protocols.
Maybe the meals committee tries to expand offerings.
Weigh in on outdoor dining.
Game room use was a bit messy, there was an ad-hoc decision that Megan
could use that
over the winter.

Sharon, Syndallas and Mary - ad-hoc team.
The idea that vaccinated individuals could get together has been coming up.
The CDC says
that if you're over 65 and have had a vaccine, go have a party. Can we
manage this in a way
that is not sending mixed signals. If people are gathering in the CH, what
do we have
to say to the little kids "come on in". We ought to put a proposal together
to think
through how we do it, keep things safe, and the wider communication. Maybe
you need to wear
a bright red hat that says "I'm vaccinated". They could put together a
proposal.

The other steering committee members and other people who are invested
could help think
through this. Unsure about the CH champions and the re-opening and the covid
ad-hoc re-opening task force group.

The CH champions are working with people who are willing to champion
re-opening of a room.
In order for rooms to be open, we need a plan for the shared connected
areas. We got stuck
because we didn't have CH champions to ensure that things were being put
into place and
followed. Then those rooms will be ready to go. If anyone wants to champion
other rooms
and put together a plan, they can bring that to steering to get that
cleared.

Would steering like to communicate this to the larger community to remind
folks?
Perhaps the CH committee could bring this forward? I'm unsure of how this
should be reminded.

There is a standing item on community meetings for steering updates. This
would be a good
opportunity for someone to provide the update about the CH re-opening.
Monday April 19th.
Mary and Amy are co-facilitators. Debbi will be busy that evening.
Debbi will write-up talking points, and then Dan will read them during the
meeting.

Tevah - Related to new practices for vaccinated people who have
non-vaccinated people in their
peer groups. I don't understand if i should think of myself as vaccinated
or not.

Sharon - You are not the only one. I don't think I should do it in this
meeting. She will
write something up and send it to Tevah for a first pass, with the
intention of sharing it
with everyone.

Syndallas - if we open the other rooms, then there will be more confusion
to clarify. We
should deal with this before we start talking about mask-less vaccinated
people use a room
together. I feel that we should talk about these things at different times.
We'll need
some persistence, and we should do this in not a mean way.

Patti - we should stay the course.

Malcolm - I don't believe there should be any maskless use of the CH at all
for the
foreseeable future.

Sharon - people benefit from hope. We're working on a 3-month process to
slowly and safely
expand opening and understand what we're going to do. It will be a lot
easier if we're
able to take small steps and re-evaluate. So by July, there will be more
vaccines, I hope
that this whole curve will be down, etc.

announcements
----------
Debbi - info is being collected on vaccines for the 3 communities. If
you're willing to
disclose this. There is information being collected on vaccines in the
tri-community's
Little Lake Cohousing Communities.
https://tinyurl.com/lilacc-vax

Mary is hosting an outdoor wedding in the middle of the pandemic. They'll
be on the north
CH patio. It's usually on the list to be cleaned for the work day. If
there's anyone who
would be willing to clean that this weekend, perhaps you could reduce some
of your workday
hours. If there is anything that you would like to do to help clean,
(there will be 20 people on-site), if there's anything that you can do to
make this place
look nicer, it will be appreciated.

Gail - we have a community meeting on April 19th. This is patriot's day.
Let's be patriots.
I have steering on the agenda, but I don't have anything else. Let me know
if there is
anything else that people would like to talk about.

Tevah - the work allocation is tomorrow, so if you're a convener, please
check in. It starts
at 10, generally it's a good idea to check in between 11-1, and not
everyone at the same time.


evaluations
----------
Went Well:
- Patti kept things on time
- good facilitation by Dan, framing some amorphous discussions
- happy that we're looking forward to discussing items that may not be
needed right now,
but will in the near future reduce delays.
- Patti: nice to see everyone, Syndallas for saying that we talk to people
not in a mean
way, and Sharon - we benefit from hope
- Thankful that steering continues to operate in a professional way.
- Sharon for being candid about the covid environment and political
environment

Changes for next time:
- Malcolm should pay more attention to questions vs discussion
- Debbi pledges to be less cranky


Willie as the minute-taker has not been officially noting what happens in
the Zoom chat unless it is brought into the meeting itself.
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