We have been notified by a member who accessed our space at 2701 Spring Grove on Sunday, August 2 that they are experiencing symptoms that may be attributed to a COVID-19 infection and are currently awaiting test results. We are deeply grateful to this member for being forthright so we can attempt to contain the spread of the disease.
Hive13 will be closed, effective immediately, as a precaution. Please DO NOT enter Hive13 without direct approval from leadership. We will be closed until Monday, August 10th 2020, in accordance with CDC guidelines. We take the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and want to do as much as we can to ensure the safety of the Hive13 community.
We are currently reviewing the sign in sheets and contacting members that may have been in direct contact with the member. We urge them to be tested, and self-quarantine until the test results come back. It is essential that we continue to use the sign in/sign out sheet, and we thank everyone who has been diligent in using it. Remember that if you are showing signs of COVID-19, please stay home. Any further updates will be communicated via mailing list and the Slack announcements channel. Please feel free to reach out to leadership if you have any further concerns.
TL;DR: We don’t need to quarantine. The risk of passage is low. Keep doing what we are doing.
To support our continued prudent operation: Hive13 remains closed until Monday August 10
Take time to Review Best Practices, Rest and Reset.
One of our members consulted their physician who advises that based on the exposure being asymptomatic, in a large space with no physical contact, and with everyone wearing masks, the risk of COVID-19 spread is extremely low. We do not need to quarantine.
The Doctor does not recommend getting tested and says that even if our Members test comes back positive, that we do not need to quarantine.
She said there is little to no risk in our continuing activities that allow for;
Safe distancing, Masks and Hand Washing, and Requiring members to stay home if they do not feel well.
Dave said, " We don’t need to quarantine. The risk of passage is low and… there is little to no risk in our continuing activities".
IMHO there IS a risk Covid-19 from any person that is shows illness symptoms or is asymptomatic! I am not convinced that an unnamed and undisclosed MD that Dave talked to really understands the HIVE-13 workspace to give a blind recommendation the environment is “safe”. Covid-19 can spread both by air and by touch by any infected person - regardless if they show symptoms or are asymptomatic.
As a result, I am not willing to risk my personal health, finances, or life to take a chance on getting Covid-19. I agree with HIVE-13 elected officers descision to close for 2 weeks for safety.
Dave was just relaying what I shared with leadership from my personal Doctor (Dr. Gwendolyn Welsh, DO) when I contacted her to ask what I needed to do (I was one of the people there at the same time as the person).
I informed her that I was at Hive13, described our space, including that it was an 11,500 SQ. Ft. space with multiple workshops, that everyone was wearing masks, and I had not made physical contact with the person, but got close enough to have a conversation. I also told her that the person was asymptomatic at the time we were both in the space, and that they began to show symptoms only the next day or two and that they had been tested, bit didn't yet have the results back.
She said that based on the exposure being asymptomatic, in a large space with no physical contact, and everyone wearing masks, she does not recommend getting tested and says that even if his test comes back positive, the risk of there having been spread was extremely low, and that I need not quarantine. She said there was little to no increased risk in me continuing to go to work or going to the Hive, and doing other activities that allow for the same safe distancing as we should be maintaining even without there being a suspected infected person.
Leadership has decided to keep Hive13 closed through Monday, August 10th out of an abundance of caution. The CDC does not recommend that facilities close in the event of a known exposure in the facility. The CDC recommendation is to disinfect the spaces exposed to the infected person if they must be used immediately, but state that disinfecting is not necessary if it has been more than 7 days since the infected person was present (Thus choosing Monday to reopen).
It's absolutely OK for anyone who doesn't feel comfortable being at Hive13 to stay away until they feel that the risk has lowered sufficiently. That said, based on current CDC guidelines and consulting with my doctor, I am convinced that while there is risk everywhere, Hive13 is relatively low risk so long as we continue to have a 10 person capacity limit, require masks, disinfect everything as we work, and maintain distance while in the building with other members.
Hi Kevin and thanks for the email, please excuse my lengthy reply.
I respectfully disagree with your and David's assessments that HIVE-13 should remain open and not close for 2 weeks as a precaution.
The physical, emotional, and financial costs of a Covid-19 infection can be devastating to HIVE-13 members, member families, friends, & co-workers and even the reputation of HIVE-13. Almost everyone in my immediate family is in the medical or law enforcement professions and are first-responders for medical emergencies that may involve Covid-19. My parents, my wife, and I are all in the over 62 age group that is most susceptible to Covid-19. All of the members of my family try to be careful and not get infected by Covid-19 because of our professional jobs, physical age, and potential exposure. None of my family has yet been personally affected by Covid-19 and we try to reduce our potential exposure by not placing personal health in risky environments that could lead to Covid-19 exposure. If any person becomes infected with Covid-19 because thorough precautions such as a HIVE-13 2 week shutdown was not implemented could result in HIVE-13 being labeled a pariah group that is medically unsafe.
Your personal Doctor is entitled to her medical opinion, but a single Doctor does not speak for the entire medical industry where medical experts consistently warn about the rampant spread of Covid-19... It seems that you have no reasonable reason that convinces me why ANYONE in HIVE-13 should take a chance with their personal life or the lives of family and friends due to a suspected Covid-19 infection at HIVE-13. A 2-week delay in re-opening HIVE-13 is a more safe that a lifetime of possible problems caused by exposure to Covid-19 at the 2701 location.
While I believe HIVE-13 is an interesting group and I considered joining after my first visit 2 weeks ago, I now choose to delay this decision indefinitely because I have real concerns about possible Covid-19 exposures through HIVE-13. IMHO, the current HIVE-13 policies that avoid a temporary 2-week shut-down may put HIVE-13 members at risk. Perhaps, I will re-visit my decision about joining HIVE-13 when an effective vaccine is found and made medically available to the general public.
If you’re apprehensive about it, then by all means, don’t go. I’m not sure where you’re getting a two week timeline… as that’s certainly not Ohio’s or the CDC’s recommendations for any facility post exposure. GE follows Ohio’s guidelines to the letter and an exposure at our facility only resulted in us closing for the weekend while they cleaned it. Monday morning, it was back to normal. The guidelines specify that you should wait 24 hours before disinfecting… but after it’s disinfected, then normal operations can resume.
As for people, the standards still apply and following the safe guidelines (wearing a mask, keeping a safe distance and washing hands) should be sufficient for anyone, especially with as few people that will be there. If you are in an at risk group, then stay home… but that’s true for any place.
| Considerations for Community-Based Organizations | CDC As some community-based organizations (CBOs) begin to resume or increase their level of activities, CDC offers the following considerations for ways these organizations can help protect individuals and communities and slow the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CBOs can play a vital role … www.cdc.gov |
Thank you Bill for relaying authoritative information about current guidelines applicable to our situation. I appreciate our leadership’s handling of the report and prompt and full disclosure. It seems reasonable to me.
That said, I wouldn’t blame anyone for choosing to exercise more caution given the early stage of our knowledge about the disease. Odds may be low, but with consequences high – and higher for some than for others – we all have to make our own decisions about the extent of defensive precautions we choose to take.
If you want to clarify to Leah and David that the visit he had to our space with me was 3 days later, and the follow up from Kevin’s doctor they probably would not mind - he may be searching his Google history like I was last night…
