[Exports_project_office] Proposals for lingering COVID protocol issues

[Craig M. Lee]

Hi All,

We received answers from Guy last night (please review attached email).

Given the data from NOC,  I think we could, in good conscience, allow a 1, or perhaps 2, day shortening of the quarantine for late arrivals. One day is more conservative, two days is the most we could accommodate and still stay within UK guidelines. I think we could justify either, but we need to make it clear to everyone that this is a contingency measure, not a change in policy. Ivona and I favor a 1-day relaxation (which would let Meg exit quarantine with the rest of the science team, and the great students one day later). We can keep the 2-day relaxation in our back pocket, in the event the others suffer from travel delays.

Outdoor recreation is trickier. My understanding is that outdoor recreation would not be in violation of UK policy, so it’s really up to us what we will or will not allow. Guy expresses some concern, but I view it as being very safe. *provided* that everyone complies with social distancing and avoids shops, pubs, restaurants (even just picking up food to go), etc. 

If we feel confident in peoples’ ability to comply with rules, then it seems like we just need to set a policy for outdoor exercise. It probably does not have to be terribly prescriptive. Something like:

- Outdoor exercise is permitted, but must be done solo (no gathering in groups)
- Avoid crowded areas and remain at least 2 m from other people
- Visits to shops, restaurants, pubs, recreation facilities etc are prohibited. This includes outdoor facilities like food carts and pick-up of to-go orders.

Then we just decide whether we let people outside immediately, or only after the 5-day LFT. The main reason to wait for the 5-day test is if the UK is worried about us bringing infection in, which does not appear to be the case. I propose that we use something like the protocol above and allow immediate outdoor access, but would like to hear from others. I’d also like to run whatever we adopt by Guy before finalizing.

Thanks,
Craig

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Subject: RE: COVID protocols
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Craig M. Lee
University of Washington
Applied Physics Laboratory
1013 NE 40th St.
Seattle, WA 98105-6698
craiglee at uw.edu
(206) 685-7656
(206) 543-6785 (fax)
http://iop.apl.washington.edu
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