Dear Extension Family,
As we enter day 69 of the COVID-19 Modified Operating Procedure for Extension, I want to again thank you for keeping the mission, vision, and activities of Clemson Cooperative Extension moving forward and growing. We are sending the regularly scheduled Monday newsletter out today, so you have the most current news before Memorial Day. I hope and pray each of you have a restful holiday weekend. I am excited that we are finally to the point of discussing the reentry plan and its three phases. Everyone is encouraged to download and review the Clemson Extension Return to Work Framework summary document. The full plan will be made available at a later date. June 1 will be a day that I have anxiously awaited, and now all the planning that has been done will finally begin being implemented. However, I will emphasize again that the safety and health of our Extension family members is our top priority. We will not reenter offices until we can do so safely.
Everyone must understand the re-entry plan was designed to ensure that one size does not fit all offices. For our re-entry plan to work, the County Coordinators and District Directors must communicate and develop a plan for EACH office. Phase one was designed to allow the County Coordinator to take their time (14 days) working with staff to make sure that we can move into phases two and three safely, effectively, and efficiently.
I received several questions before and after the town hall regarding the conditions of county offices. I understand your concerns; however, we (Extension) have very little control over the physical conditions of the buildings. This is the responsibility of the county. The County Coordinators have been instructed to work closely with the county administrators to ensure that the county buildings are maintained, well cleaned, and ready for business. The re-entry plan addresses how to open the offices safely, and each office will have to modify that plan to meet the local needs. Mr. Chris Heintze is working on getting each office the sneeze shields, and Dr. Matthew Burns has worked with the University’s Office of Procurement Services to get the needed sanitation supplies and CPE (community protective equipment) kits to each office. The phase one kits have been delivered, and the phase two kits are being prepared.
It is important that when we are given the approval from the University’s EOC (after phrase three) to begin having events with more than 10 people, we follow social distancing and sanitation practices. If you cannot follow these practices in the regular county office meeting space, then you must relocate your event to a place that will enable you to do so. Otherwise, the event will need to be conducted remotely. We must be prepared to continue with creative and innovative means in order to host events safely.
I have received many questions since the Town Hall meetings, and I have done my best to address all of them and provide straightforward answers. My responses to these questions are listed below:
TOWN HALL SESSION 1: 10:30 am – 11:30 am Coastal and Midlands
1. Are there ‘decrease in infection’ numbers, etc. that are going to be setting the dates for phased approach to public access to offices?
As the increase in testing done for the infection rate will continue to grow, so will the infection rate. However, the way SCDHEC will be monitoring will be based on hospitalization rate, which must show no increase/decline before the next phase will be implemented. We must remember that our goal is to have testing available for everyone so we can get a true baseline of the infection rate. No statistical numbers are valid unless we have a baseline to form that opinion from.
2. What is the policy regarding volunteers outside of the office as far as restrictions?
That is a very good question, and we have developed policies for volunteers and will release that information in the newsletter. Please see Volunteer Policy for COVID-19.
3. Concerned with how 4-H school enrichment programs will be affected by possibly not allowing volunteers in the schools, any advice on how to approach this?
We will have to follow each school’s guidelines for work with youth groups. I would suggest that we explore virtual school meetings in the fall. It would be possible to recruit a teacher as a volunteer to host those virtual meetings. I’m sure that schools will be looking for as many avenues of extracurricular activities as they possibly can to provide a break in the school day. It may even be possible to have those virtual meetings during regular school hours. I already know that most school districts have canceled all field trips for the fall semester. For this reason alone, getting 4-H into the schools should be an easier task.
4. Will the EOC touch on requirements for hosting programs for summer/fall? How many people? Inside/outside?
Yes. The EOC will let us know those guidelines. However, you must submit information for all planned programs with over 10 people two weeks prior to the event to Dr. Matthew Burns, and he will ask for EOC approval.
5. I work with volunteers outside the office doing cleanups – as long as we social distance is it ok?
Yes, as long as social distancing and CPE guidelines are followed.
6. Are there details in the written plan that we will get that outline how the case count, etc. will be calculated. Like is it a rolling window? An overall number, what is the time frame for calculating the numbers that determine safety and decrease criteria?
The guidelines are outlined by SCDHEC through the Governor’s office and will be adhered to by Clemson University and Clemson Extension.
7. Going forward if all of the chemicals and sanitizer, etc. become normal parts of administering a program will our operating budgets for programs be used for CPE?
Yes, currently the University will be receiving some stimulus money, and hopefully we will be able to recoup some COVID expenses. However, moving forward, all cleaning and CPE materials will be coming out of operating funds.
TOWN HALL SESSION 2: 11:45 am – 12:45 pm Savannah Valley and Pee Dee
1. How about sending out some tiger rags with the supplies?
This is not part of the approved CPE supplies.
2. How do we handle students who were supposed to intern in the office?
If it is a UPIC intern, please contact Dr. Callahan for those guidelines.
TOWN HALL SESSION 3: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Upstate and Campus
1. Will county coordinators be provided a copy of this booklet and when?
A summary of the Extension Return to Work Framework summary document is now available online.
2. What will trigger a retrenchment should the second wave appear and how will the retrenchment process work should it be necessary?
We will be following CDC and SCDHEC guidelines. If the Governor’s office (in conjunction w/SCDHEC) indicates that there is an increase in COVID-19 cases, this will indicate retrenchment. I can assure you that the EOC will be monitoring COVID-19 infection rates on a daily basis and there are already pre-set triggers put in place for us to respond quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
3. How will you address those offices that are in a shared building, that may or may not be closed to the public. For example, in our building (Anderson Co.) another state agency is housed upstairs from the Anderson office, and when opened they have quite a bit of foot traffic.
County offices are no different than campus buildings where there are shared spaces with other offices, and there are 20,000 students coming into buildings. We will have to practice social distancing, keep our office doors closed, and use appointment schedules (when appropriate) for outsiders to come into our offices. It will be very important that the District Director work with each county office to set up a standard operating procedure for allowing people to come into the office based on the dynamic of each office. The greatness of Extension is that we are a shared entity with local, state, and federal governments. However, that is what makes us very complex, and the management of the county building is overseen by the county that we operate with. I am sure that working with your District Director, we can come up with a safe and effective operating procedure for each office.
4. Would offices on campus follow Pickens County statistics or different requirements of the University?
For emergencies and inclement weather. For COVID, we will follow the University guidelines mainly because the statistics will be greatly inflated when students return to campus in the Fall. I can assure you that the University will make sure our faculty, staff, and students will be safe.
5. If the county office we’re in has more than three, but only three or less are usually in the office, can the plan to reopen be accelerated?
We will have to follow all three phases to open the county offices effectively, efficiently, and safely. The number of employees will not accelerate our Phase 3 openings. The ability to go between the phases will be dictated by the Governor and EOC (in conjunction with the CDC and SCDHEC).
6. How much cleaning will be required, since the virus does not persist more than three days on a surface? Just commonly touched items like door handles and copier keys, perhaps, especially if the office has had no one in it for an extended time? I suggest that the county offices all conduct a risk assessment of the county office environment to identify the high-risk areas that everyone touches frequently as these are the areas to set up a cleaning schedule for, referring to the cleaning as we phase in to use.
During Phase 1, the office staff is to conduct a needs assessment of cleaning areas for that particular office. When developing the plan, it is highly suggested that visitors be restricted to a particular area in the office once open back to the public. That area should be cleaned often. If proper hand washing is done by all staff, areas in the office not open to the public should still be cleaned on a regular basis and all doorknobs, faucets, and commonly touched surfaces.
7. There has been some talk of A/B days, or digital learning for public schools in the Fall…Is there a long-term plan for those with young children that cannot be home by themselves?
Clemson University has made provisions with the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Work with your District Director on appropriate leave entries and schedules.
EMAILED QUESTIONS:
1. Will Extension be evaluating county office conference rooms for social-distance programming to determine the number of people that can sit six feet apart in a classroom setting? We are doing this for on-campus classrooms so I was wondering if Extension would do similar or just opt-out for online until we get a vaccine.
Yes, during Phase 1, part of the evaluation system will be to make sure that we can safely social distance within any of our regular meetings places.
2. Before coming back to the office will we need to be tested for Coronavirus?
Currently, testing for everyone is not available. Hopefully, testing will be made available for everyone soon. We will follow the University’s EOC guidelines on this.
3. Will we be required or encouraged to wear masks or any other sort of PPE when we are back in the office and open to the public?
This is specifically covered in the Extension Return to Work Framework guidelines. When working with the public, it is highly suggested that you wear a mask.
4. Will inmates continue to clean the Pickens Extension office (and others if this is the practice)? If so, what precautions will be put into place regarding spread of Covid-19?
These precautions will be left up to the county officials and will follow CDC and SCDHEC guidelines.
5. How should we handle customers and other county/state employees in our office building that are not following guidelines and putting us at risk such as not wearing a mask or coming closer to us within the six feet range?
We can only work with our existing employees to ensure that they follow COVID etiquette. I am sure that other state agencies and county government employees will have to follow the same guidelines that we do. It is my hope that even if other employees do not share the same health concerns as we do, that they are considerate to others and will respect others by following proper social distancing and wearing proper CPE attire. You have the right to ask people to wear a mask. The offices will be set up to ensure that social distancing will be followed.
6. Where possible, can a sliding glass window or a Dutch door be installed to limit access into the office while still allowing for the taking in of samples and interaction with customers?
Chris Heintze is working to install the sneeze guards that have been approved by CDC standards. We alter the physical design of county buildings; however, your County Coordinator can work with the county to get these installed.
