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Dear Everyday Zen Bay Area Sangha,


As you may have heard, Marin County has declared a public health emergency in response to the spread of Covid-19 in the SF Bay Area, as a "proactive preparedness measure."

Below, we've adapted an email from Red Cedar Zen that proposes clear and simple protocols for managing dharma gatherings safely in these circumstances. Could we adopt these for our own dharma gatherings?

Norman asked me to pass all this on to you.

Hand sanitizer is in short supply around the Bay Area now so if you're coming to seminar or other EDZ dharma gathering and happen to have some to spare, please bring it with you!
 

thank you and please be safe and well,

Laura

Staying Healthy at Dharma Gatherings

 

Adapted from Red Cedar Zen


Dear Dharma Friends,

Like you, Everyday Zen is deeply concerned about the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19. Please read this update carefully. If we all work together we can do much to reduce the risk and continue to receive the great benefits of practicing together at seminar and other gatherings.

The information here is consistent with the Center For Disease Control and Prevention website.

COVID-19, the novel Coronavirus, is  a droplet-spread disease that is directly transmitted by coughs or sneezes between people who are close to one another (up to 6 feet).  It may also be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by contacting a surface, then touching one’s nose or mouth, but this is not thought to be the primary way it spreads.

However, because this is a new virus, the following suggestions are made to address “community spread” and are important to follow when groups are together:

If you are sick with cough or fever, stay home.

The CDC mentions three key symptoms to watch out for:
  • fever
  • cough
  • shortness of breath
WASH YOUR HANDS.
 

At our gatherings:

  1. When you arrive at a Dharma Gathering, please wash your hands or use the hand sanitizer. Make this your first order of business after you take your shoes and coat off.
     
  2. Wash hands thoroughly after using the bathroom. The recommended 20 seconds of active scrubbing takes a while.
     
  3. Cover coughs or sneezes with tissue, then throw away. Consider using sanitizer or washing your hands again.
     
  4. Don’t touch your face; keep hands below chin. This greatly reduces risk of infection.
     
  5. Consider refraining from hugging and hand touching — here is where bowing to each other works well!

Thank you for being very mindful of these precautions so that we can all continue to enjoy the benefits of practicing together with increased safety.
 

More Context


While Marin HHS is calling their declaration a preparedness measure only, we know that the virus is circulating undetected around the Bay Area — as do people. Without being alarmist, I think we should be prepared for a possible wider outbreak and disruption as is happening now in the Seattle area. 

Here are two of the best resources that I've found, to help put things in perspective. 

Preparing for Coronavirus to Strike the U.S.
Getting ready for the possibility of major disruptions is not only smart; it’s also our civic duty.
Zeynep Tufekci, Scientific American, February 27, 2020.

"We should prepare, not because we may feel personally at risk, but so that we can help lessen the risk for everyone. We should prepare not because we are facing a doomsday scenario out of our control, but because we can alter every aspect of this risk we face as a society."

The Coronavirus Isn't Going Away
Noah Feldman, Deep Background with Noah Feldman, Pushkin Industries, Feb 28, 2020.

Leading epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch of ⁦Harvard Public Health in conversation with Noah Feldman explains the facts about the coronavirus — and how we know them. 
 

Also this:


Worship in the Age of Coronavirus: Prayer, Elbow Bumps, Hand Sanitizer
Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith, NY Times, March 3, 2020.

As coronavirus spreads, churches, synagogues and mosques are taking precautions and adjusting their worship traditions.
 

Other Resources

Header image: Kano Motonobu, Eight Views of the Xiao-Xiang Region (Shosho Hakkei), first half 16th century. Hanging scroll: ink on paper; with ivory rollers. Photo credit: Yale University Art Gallery.
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