Adaptations

Disclaimer

The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is extremely contagious and is believed to spread mainly from person-to-person contact. As a result, federal, state, and local governments and federal and state health agencies recommend social distancing and have, in many locations, prohibited the congregation of groups of people. All Hands and Hearts has put in place preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; however, All Hands and Hearts cannot guarantee that you will not become infected with COVID-19. Further, attending the All Hands and Hearts program could increase your risk of contracting COVID-19.

The information provided herein is obtained from publicly available sources. This information may vary and will be updated depending upon current situations. As there is much to learn about COVID-19, please be advised that AHAH gives no assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. Further, the information contained herein is provided for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as advice.

All Hands and Hearts will put in place reasonable and practicable controls. But, it is not possible to entirely remove the risk of exposure and infection in our environment.

Executive summary

The COVID-19 pandemic created the need for widespread restrictions on movement and to physically separate people to slow the spread of virus, to a manageable level. The economic impacts of these actions are unprecedented, compounding the health threats and creating a crisis that has many evolving aspects and impacts.

Even in places where we are starting to see economies reopen, the message of “stay at home if you can” remains a constant. It is anticipated that control measures such as reducing contact, face coverings and health screening will be required for 24 months, until a vaccine is produced, released and distributed or, the disease becomes easily treatable. Over that time, each of us will contend to establish new social contracts with others. This will require us to navigate our own mental trauma while simultaneously negotiating with the other person's own trauma.

We will be challenged by different and evolving opinions. Already we see disagreement between those who assert the economic impacts of the protective measures do more harm than is prevented if they are not in place. At the other end of the spectrum, we see those who are concerned for the health impacts of the virus and believe the economic impact is justified. All Hands and Hearts will take a neutral stance and aim to provide an environment which enables and promotes safe choices.

All Hands and Hearts aim to provide an environment where people feel proportionally safe and are safe as they can be. We should strive for this goal mindfully, with every one of us sharing a common understanding of the hazards we face and the part we play in protecting the communities around us, and each other. The tendency to shut off from the world and pretend it’s all gone away will be tempting, but we must resist and have controls which are proportional to the situation at that time.

It is vital that, through our careful planning in response to COVID-19, we do not create new hazards and threats, nor ignore pre-existing risks. We have defined a stand-down process to help guide our relaxing of controls, as it becomes appropriate.