Page 19 - Bulletin #67 - November 2020

“At the very beginning of the Corona Crisis, a Safety and Health ad-hoc Committee formed, and
came up with some guidelines for the community. We met via Zoom, and agreed to basic
precepts, such as no meals and no use of the Common House except for essential activities such as
laundry, to avoid possible Corona contamination. Basically, we’re sheltering in place in our
homes, going outside only for exercise and essential activities such as medical appointments and
grocery shopping. We’re communicating both for meetings and for social events through Zoom,
but see each other occasionally on the walkways as we get our mail, and can chat from an
appropriate distance. So far, I think people in the community are doing okay, given the strange
times we’re in.”
— Laurie Friedman, Muir Commons Cohousing, Davis, California, USA

“We held emergency meetings as soon as the B.C. government announced the COVID-19
restrictions, first, using social distancing, and then, via Zoom. We followed the Jamaica Plains
Cohousing model as our guide in setting up protocols, moving through stages one through six as
the crisis worsened. We have two nurses living here who gave us good advice on disinfecting,
social distancing, and other information we needed to keep our vulnerable community members
safe. We set a schedule for disinfecting all the touch-points in our building – door handles, light
switches, entry phone, mailbox, elevator buttons, etc. – and established a buddy system so that all
the residents had someone they could call on for help if needed. We set up a buddy family system
so that the children could play together and still maintain the protocols. We let families with
children who had to work from home use some of the common rooms as their work-space, with
the condition that they had to maintain and disinfect them after every use.”
–Kathryn-Jane Hazel, Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community, Nanaimo, B.C. Canada 19

“Of our 28 or so members, most of us are sheltered in place. One or two have to work outside.
Several others have relocated to family in other states to weather the storm. We have a strict
regimen isolating from each other by wearing masks whenever we are in the kitchen (all other
commons have been closed, except for a gym we set up), and try to maintain a 6′ distance from
each other. When we enter the kitchen or other common areas, we immediately wash our hands.
We’ve replace our vinegar/water solution for wiping off counters with a weak bleach/water
solution and teams on cleanup duty sanitize all countertops, drawer/cabinet pulls, light switches,
faucets, etc. Separate solution spray bottles are kept in the bathrooms and showers to sanitize
those facilities. We have gloves for when we go shopping. Upon returning with groceries, we wipe
everything down with our bleach solution before bringing it into the kitchen. We have a plan,
protocols and a room set aside if anyone comes down with the virus.”
— Steve Ediger, GreenRise Intentional Community, Uptown, Chicago, IL

“We have a volunteer pandemic task force that is making recommendations to the community
and working to make the building work best for this situation (altering ventilation in some areas,
leaving fans on, making signs to leave certain windows on a certain amount for X long, adding
whiteboards outside common house rooms to indicate when they are available for use). We wear
masks outside and maintain a 6′ distance. The Task Force is meeting this evening to make a reco
on what kind of gatherings are recommended (how many people at how much distance in what
areas) – as we try to get our social mojo going again. Common meals were discontinued in late