HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021_09_25 B&KDarlington_COVIDFrom:billandkaydarlington@gmail.com
To:Board of Health
Subject:Question for Dr. Barry
Date:Saturday, September 25, 2021 10:31:48 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or
clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
Hello Dr. Barry,
First of all, thank you to both you and Dr. Locke for all the guidance and information you have and are providing to
our county businesses and residents during this trying time of the COVID pandemic. It is a very challenging position
you are in now not only in trying to sort through all the changes and new data that seem to come through on a daily
basis but also having to deal with the uninformed, unconcerned and angry part of the population that puts their own
viewpoints and biases above the health of themselves, their families and their neighbors.
I sent an email to you through the website at the Clallum County Health Department last week since I was not able
to locate your email address on the Jefferson County Health Dept. website. We did not get a response so thought
sending this might be a place to get our request to you.
We are currently living in a senior (55 and older) co-housing community in Port Townsend. We all live in our own
small townhouses. For our first 3 years, we were able to share 3 meals a week in our Common House dining room.
We also shared 1 or 2 social events together and hold team meetings in our Common House.
In March of 2020, we ceased the common meals and other activities and switched events and meetings to Zoom.
When meeting guidelines for vaccinated folks were relaxed a little this past July (2021), we eased into 1 meal a
week to see how things would go. Things went well that month and we even had a successful BBQ with half of the
folks outdoors on our patio and the other half in our dining room with the windows and doors open.
In August, when the positive case levels started to rise in Jefferson County, we stopped having meals together and
other social events. A few of our residents did not feel safe getting together even though all of our 42 residents are
vaccinated. Many others in the community feel that it is OK for us to gather for meals and events. This difference of
viewpoint seems to stem from how each of us is interpreting what is safe or not when those who are vaccinated
gather together. We need help with this. Our community is going through a tough time now because many of us
living in co-housing do so because of the value of living in close proximity that is fulfilling both mentally and
emotionally.
We all have great respect for you and your departments knowledge and recommendations but there seems to be a
lack of agreement as to what guidelines might be best for our community.
So…we were wondering if you might consider having you or one of your trusted colleagues attend our next General
Meeting on Zoom (October 10) for 10-15 minutes to outline what you think could be allowed and safe for our
community to participate in. We understand that you have or currently offer these recommendations to local schools
and have done so for a local health facility. It would give us more certainty for what we can offer our community for
its betterment.
We have a few who are immunocompromised and they have received a booster shot.
Thank you for considering answering our request by your attendance at our meeting next month or a written
response that specifically addresses our concerns and needs. We can certainly provide you with any additional
information or answer questions if you need before responding.
Thank you for your time.
Bill and Kay Darlington - Quimper Village
Sent from my iPad