2. Regathering Revisited
During this pandemic, love of neighbor requires careful planning. Because we love God, we want to offer worship that brings our very best. Because we love our neighbors, we want to do everything we can to make sure we bring no harm to anyone when we gather.
With the holidays upon us, we thought it would be an ideal time to revisit our social distancing and safety protocols for our worship services.
Additional COVID-19 Questions
Q: What is currently happening with the rates of COVID-19 in Texas and the Houston area?
A: While cases are increasing significantly in Texas, the rate of increase in the Houston area is not as pronounced as statewide. Last week there was an average of 856 cases per day in the Houston area (as reported by the Texas Medical Center tmc.edu). This compares to 697 for the prior week, 497 a month ago and a high of 2,366 average daily cases the week of July 13-19. For comparison, the average daily cases the first week we regathered was 1,122.
Q: With these increases are we reevaluating gathering physically on Sunday mornings?
A: Currently we do not plan to alter our gathering plans. This is based on a number of factors:
- Between Grace school and church, we currently have almost 500 people on campus most days and have had no reported cases of transmission between people while on campus. This indicates to us that social distancing and masking along with our cleaning protocols and the improvements we have made to our air conditioning systems are effective in mitigating the transmission of the virus between people on our campus.
- Since our initial regathering, we have introduced several other measures to reduce the potential exposure of the congregation to virus particles emitted from people on the chancel. These include closing the first two front rows of pews in the center of the sanctuary and adding plexiglass microphone shields to the singers who are at the front of the chancel. We have also eliminated coffee service before the service to minimize the removal of masks during services in order for people to drink their coffee.
- Our congregation’s compliance with our hand hygiene and cough etiquette, as well as masking and social distancing protocols, has been high both within worship and in the equipping hour. We will continue to emphasize the need for everyone to wear their masks properly and to socially distance.
Q: I have heard that we have installed equipment in the air conditioning system that “kills” the virus. Can you tell me more about this?
A: We have installed needlepoint bipolar ionization systems from Global Plasma Systems on the entire campus with the exception of Massey Tucker Hall second and third floors. This technology produces a high concentration of positive and negative ions, which are delivered via the ventilation system. Within the air stream, ions attach to particles, where they combine, become larger and are more easily filtered from the air. Additionally, when these ions come in contact with pathogens, they disrupt the pathogens’ surface proteins, rendering them inactive. Laboratory tests of the GPS system show a 99.9% reduction in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 after 30 minutes of exposure. More information can be found on the needlepoint bipolar ionization systems from Global Plasma Systems at https://globalplasmasolutions.com.
Q: Are there metrics that Grace evaluates to assess its operations in this COVID-19 environment?
A: We look at three primary measures that can be found on the Texas Medical Center website (tmc.edu). These are:
- The weekly average daily cases in the greater Houston area.
- The virus reproduction rate [R(t)] for the greater Houston area. A rate greater than 1.0 indicates that the virus is spreading.
- The test positivity rate for the hospitals in the TMC system. This is the ratio of positive tests to total tests. We use the TMC system results as these statistics have a lower reporting lag than those available for the entire Houston area
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While these metrics guide our decision-making process, we make final choices based on the results we see in the context of our own campus.
Finally, we monitor the protocols and requirements issued by Federal, state, and local authorities.
Q: It is great to see the choir back but aren't choirs potential super spreaders of the virus?
A: There is strong evidence that singing has the potential to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 more than ordinary speech. At Grace, we have taken the following actions to minimize the risk of the spread of COVID-19 from and between choir members:
- The choir is placed as far back on the chancel as practical. This creates distance between the congregation and the choir which greatly reduces the chance of any virus particles reaching the congregation.
- The choir members are socially distanced from each other to protect the choir from potential virus particles reaching other choir members.
- The choir members wear face masks. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden researching the impact of singing on the emission of aerosol virus particles found that "When the singers were wearing a simple face mask, this caught most of the aerosols and droplets and the levels were comparable with ordinary speech."
Q: Are there any other changes around church activities that we might see as a result of increases in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Houston area?
A: Food and beverages are an issue for us, not because they increase the risk of virus spread but because a person must remove their mask to eat and drink. A further increase in metrics may lead us to discontinue coffee service in the Welcome Center.
Q: I am still uncomfortable returning to in person worship. Will Grace continue to livestream services?
A: We plan to continue to livestream services. Additionally, some of our Sunday School classes are offering a Zoom alterative to meeting in person.
Q: I tested positive for COVID-19, and I was at church. What should I do?
A: You may contact our director of Human Resources, Narda Weierbach, at nweierbach@gpch.org. Additionally, you should contact anyone that you were within six feet or less (masked or unmasked) for fifteen minutes or more (cumulative time over a 24-hour period) and let them know that they have potential exposure to COVID-19.
You should consult your medical professional for specifics but our protocol for employees and volunteers is to allow people to return to Grace when:
- You have had no fever for at least one day (24 hours) without taking medication to reduce fever during that time, AND
- Any respiratory symptoms (cough and shortness of breath) have improved, AND
- At least ten days have passed since symptoms began or if non-symptomatic, 10 days since the date of the positive test.
Q: I was exposed to COVID-19. When can I attend worship or other activities at Grace?
A: If you have you been in close contact with someone who is presumed or confirmed positive with COVID-19, we ask you to self-quarantine for 14 days after the last close contact with the person with COVID-19. Close contact is defined as being within six feet of the person for 15 minutes or more (masked or unmasked) or having direct contact with infectious secretions of a COVID-19 infected person (e.g., being coughed on). The 15-minute period is cumulative over a 24-hour period.
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