We are now on day 47 of the COVID-19 Modified Operating Procedure for Extension, and I must commend you all on your determination to continue with innovative measures that are keeping Extension alive and visible among our communities. You have created new partnerships, rekindled old ones, and opened new doors of opportunity for delivering our programs to the citizens of South Carolina. The commitment to working effectively and efficiently during the COVID-19 epidemic has been truly amazing.
We are still able to provide our services across the board, from supporting food pantries to advising on gardening projects. The WalkSC program has implemented a new Stay-at-Home edition to keep current participants moving and engage a new audience as well. Agents have been able to continue one-on-one site visits with stakeholders by taking care to use social distancing measures and are carefully tracking their visits with ‘pin drops.’ Repackaging the majority of our programming activities into a virtual format has given us confidence as we have realized we can quickly adapt new skillsets.
As we make progress towards identifying the different stages of office re-entry, we will clearly communicate the plan to do so. Your Extension Leadership Team has been working diligently to put together a comprehensive plan that puts your safety first. That being said, we will work together as a family, as we always do, to make the phased reopening of the county offices a deliberate process. We all must practice social distancing, and rethink how we offer our programs, how we greet people, and how we clean our offices. All of us use the offices, and we all must do our part to keep the offices clean and the common areas sanitized. Dr. Burns has been working with procurement to get the initial CPE (Community Protect Equipment) supplies to ensure we can all have a safe environment. We are evaluating the possible stages of a rollout plan and will be sure to announce a start date when it is confirmed. But again, please remember that this is a fluid situation still, and new information can always alter plans.
I want to remind you that the timeline for evaluations is still in place, and we must be prepared to have these done on time. I would encourage all of you to start working on your evaluation packet, as you will need to provide them to your District Extension Director by June 1, 2020. I will send out more information about this requirement later this week.
There is a lot of information being shared in the news and among communities about the status of the COVID-19 situation in different areas and the myriad of actions that should or are being taken. This is a very uncertain time. I share the same concerns many of you may have, and I am also focused on how to keep us moving forward. As always, please take good care of yourselves and your families, and thank you for what you do for Clemson Extension.
