Letter to City volunteers
The following letter was sent to City of Wilsonville volunteers on March 10, 2020
City of Wilsonville volunteers,
Volunteers play a vital role in serving the Wilsonville community, so we’d like to share some information about COVID-19 (coronavirus), a public health concern that City of Wilsonville staff and elected officials are taking very seriously.
Our primary goal is to help protect community members. At this time, we are particularly concerned with taking precautions to protect older adults and immuno-compromised individuals whose health and safety is most at risk.
The best way to help keep our community healthy? Adopt good habits that reduce the spread of germs.
- When Sick, Stay Home! Avoid others when you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, including coughing, fever and shortness of breath.
- Wash Your Hands. Wash several time daily, vigorously with soap and water for 20 seconds or more, taking thorough care to get underneath your fingernails.
- Cover Your Mouth. When you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth with a tissue or the crook of your elbow.
- Avoid Touching Mouth, Nose or Eyes. This is how many germs end up in the respiratory system.
- Limit Unnecessary Contact. Skip the handshakes and high-fives until the threat subsides.
- Keep Your Immune System Strong. Eat healthy, get regular sleep and exercise, and address underlying health conditions.
- Social Distancing. By avoiding air travel and large-scale events where people are densely packed, you reduce your chances of exposure to COVID-19 and other ailments.
Adopting these behaviors reduces the transmission of germs to slow down the spread of COVID-19. This is critical, because it provides our hospitals and public health facilities with the necessary capacity to assist those most in need.
Precautionary Protocols in Place
The City’s response to COVID-19 is well underway. It includes thorough de-sanitization of City-owned facilities to protect residents, staff and volunteers. Program areas, help counters, meeting rooms and other high-use areas are wiped down multiple times daily. Hand sanitizer is available at public facilities. SMART buses are cleaned thoroughly on a nightly basis.
Toys, difficult to sanitize effectively, have been temporarily removed from the Library. Signs at building entrances advocate many of the habits listed above and ask those who are sick not to enter public buildings. Restrooms at City parks and facilities remind people to wash their hands.
As the situation evolves, additional steps may be taken. This could include the cancellation of non-critical meetings and events, facility closures and/or other measures to help ensure public safety.
Our Vounteer Appreciation Dinner, which was scheduled to take place in April, is being postponed to a later date so that we may show our gratitude without any concerns or restrictions.
Thanks for Making Our Community Strong
We appreciate you, and recognize that you are among the most compassionate people in Wilsonville. Please check in to help prepare older adults and those with conditions (such as heart disease, lung disease and diabetes) that increase the risk from exposure to coronavirus.
If you yourself fall into a higher-risk category, and have questions or concerns about how this could impact your volunteer service, please contact the City staff liaison to your board, commission or volunteer group to begin the conversation. If you’re feeling sick, stay home and communicate your absence to your staff liaison.
Our goal is to continue to lead effectively, with community safety as our foremost priority. We are gathering and evaluating new information daily, following the recommendations of our partners in public health, and may adopt additional public safety measures should the need arise.
Thanks,
Bryan Cosgrove
City Manager
