Re: [PLEASE READ] Masking Survey Results and Policy Change

[Sam Ratliff <sratliff118 gmail com>]

Hello again!

Given that the wastewater levels 
(https://www.mwra.com/biobot/biobotdata.htm) have fallen to around 400 
units, masking will be optional as of today. The levels are still moving 
around, and historically, covid has been worse in the fall and winter, so 
we will keep an eye on the data and see what comes of it. Hopefully levels 
stay low this year!

Cheers!

Sam and Kat
On Aug 18, 2023 at 11:51 PM -0400, Sam Ratliff <sratliff118 gmail com>, 
wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> The COVID wastewater levels (data from here: 
> https://www.mwra.com/biobot/biobotdata.htm) have been fluctuating 
> between 450 and 550 units for the north system over the last two weeks. 
> As a point of reference, at the end of June when we sent out the masking 
> survey, levels were below 100 units. In accordance with the results of 
> the survey, masking will be mandatory until levels are consistently 
> below 500 units. This will go into effect starting August 26th.
>
> Sam and Kat
> On Jun 25, 2023 at 9:23 PM -0400, Katarina Whimsy via 
> Boston-change-ringers <boston-change-ringers cosmos phy tufts edu>, 
> wrote:
> > Hey folks,
> >
> > Sam (Tower Captain: Advent) and I (Tower Captain: Old North) took the 
> > time
> > to go through the survey results in order to make an Official Decision
> > about masking during tower bell ringing. (we are not qualified to speak
> > towards masking at handbell ringing on account of it having to adhere 
> > to
> > MIT policies)
> >
> > Firstly, we'd like to thank everyone for your thoughtful and 
> > compassionate
> > input. We received 33 survey responses and almost as many comments 
> > --I've
> > attached an anonymized summary of the survey data at the bottom of this
> > email. The brief summary is that ~66% of people prefer a mask-optional
> > policy and ~75% of people prefer the windows to be open when weather
> > permits.
> >
> > Secondly, we will be changing the policy as follows:
> >
> >
> >
> > *Masks will be optional in the tower when...the windows are open...the
> > covid wastewater levels (https://www.mwra.com/biobot/biobotdata.htm
> > <https://www.mwra.com/biobot/biobotdata.htm>) are below 500 "Copies of
> > COVID-19 RNA per milliliter of wastewater"*
> >
> > Additionally, if you are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness, 
> > or
> > have had a recent covid exposure, please wear a mask (or don't attend).
> > This is true even if you have had a negative test --we don't want to 
> > spread
> > flus or colds throughout the tower either!
> >
> > We will give one week's notice if/when masks become required again, 
> > and the
> > officers reserve the right to change the policy even if the wastewater
> > number has not reached 500 (eg, if the government re-institutes a 
> > state of
> > emergency)
> >
> > This policy will go into effect starting on *Wednesday, July 5th*. At 
> > that
> > point, masks will be optional but still welcome/encouraged. Please do 
> > not
> > harass any ringer for wearing or not-wearing a mask during times when
> > masking is optional.
> >
> > Thirdly, we had a few comments about getting air filters for the 
> > towers.
> > That will not immediately affect the policy, but we think it's a good 
> > idea
> > and would like to move forward with figuring out how to do that 
> > (including
> > asking the churches for permission to store, finding funds, etc)
> >
> > Thank you again for your input. A link to the survey data is below:
> > https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kzuaXEdywNB-12Q_lekfVpWAMS7PORfQlueYs6x507I/edit?usp=sharing
> >
> > ~Kat and Sam
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