Hiro, and all,
Thank you for your sage comments. In response, we intend to enforce the
mask, distancing, and surface and hand sanitizing protocols for all members
and participants. This first event is intended to figure out if that is
possible and “how” to do so.
The SDAA has a responsibility to our members and to those who will attend
our events. I believe that our operational responsibility is to cooperate
with guidelines developed by official health organizations. We admit that
the COVID-19 virus is not yet well understood, and any public guideline
will unfortunately, fall short of perfection. But, that is what we have.
Each of our members will make the call regarding their own safety, and I
respect those decisions, as long as we maintain the minimum requirements in
our plan. Many members will choose not to participate in our programs, but
others will.
Guests, also, should understand that the SDAA will require them to
cooperate with the standard guidelines. The best we can do as an
organization, is to apply those CDC etc., guidelines to all of our
operational procedures. The proposed reopening plan is an attempt to apply
the guidelines to public astronomy, outdoor, outreach events. We will
discover some successes and some failures, and will then modify our plans
as needed.
Also, I really appreciate all comments on this interactive, dynamic
process. I do not believe comments are “negative” or “positive”, since we
do not know what the social context will look like many months down the
road. We will accept the Board’s decision to review, modify or delay this
proposed plan. But, I would prefer that we have “a plan” to offer to our
members, rather than the members operating without Board direction. Either
way, we need to initiate the dialog.
Dave D
On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 10:10 PM Hiroyuki Hakozaki <hiroyuki@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Dave,
I understand the difficulty of getting gloves. I think the proposal is
written well and looks good to me.
I want organizers and telescope operators to strongly ask face mask
wearing and hand sanitizer usage.
They should refuse attendees who aren't following protocol.
In my opinion, these public events aren't safe at this moment even with
these rules
and if I'm responsible, I won't agree to do it. If everyone is very
careful and follows the rule diligently,
it can be done. But I saw many people not following rules. And it won't be
easy to force them to do so.
But I also understand people want to start the event. Since our star party
is supported by volunteers,
we can not stop them from doing it and your guide line looks appropriate.
Sorry to be negative about it. Since it is a very difficult call, I want
to share my opinion.
Recent increasing positive cases also worry me about these public events.
Hiro.
On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 4:06 PM Dave Decker <davemobile8@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Board Members,
Attached is our third version of the plan to re-open some outreach
events. Thank you for your comments and suggestions.
The plan implements these concepts:
-Use of 70% alcohol for sanitizing equipment
-Use of personal masks by guests, members / hosts
-Deployment of social distancing where possible
-Cueing participants to control distancing
-Notification to public participants of our COVID-19 expectations
-Use of lighting or markers where feasible
-Implementation of self-check questions for host-members
-Sanitation of equipment / furniture before and after event
-Recognition of host agency COVID-19 protocols
All suggestions have been reviewed by Ed Rumsey, Dennis Ammann, and
myself. Some ideas, although they may have merit, are probably not
applicable to us per public health and CDC guidelines, or are not feasible
for SDAA Outreach due to a clear lack of personnel and / or supply
resources. Some PPE equipment and supplies are not currently available or
subject to very high prices and lengthy shipping estimates.
This proposal is intended to continue the dialogue concerning the
outreach program in general. I honestly do not know where that will lead
later this year. But, currently, we have been invited to KQ Ranch this
Saturday, and the TDS Public Night is on-calendar for July 11. These
present an opportunity to discuss options.
At this point I am inclined to ask for a straw vote regarding these two
events. We currently do not have options with other public venues. Again, I
thank the Board members for participation in this decision, whether we go
forward this weekend or later this Summer.
Dave D
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