Hello, everyone, and welcome to a special presentation about Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID 19. Today, we're going to answer frequently asked questions about daily life, social interactions, returning to work, and more. I'm John Anderton, and today I'm representing CDC's Emergency Partners Information Connection, the EPIC Team. First, I'd like to say that current events are deeply affecting many Americans, adding to their stress, creating uncertainty about the future, and directly affecting people's health and safety. We're all experiencing some, if not all of these events, but they affect some groups disproportionately. Our hope is that today's presentation will help reduce at least some of the risks that Americans are facing right now. I'm pleased to welcome Dr. Sarah Lee with us today. Sarah is the team lead for the Research, Application and Evaluation Team with the School Health Branch in the Division of Population Health here at CDC. Her team focuses on chronic disease prevention and management in schools, providing scientific expertise and leadership on documents, surveillance systems, and CDC school health programs. Sarah's currently serving as the team lead for community guidance associated with the COVID 19 response. So, Sarah, welcome. Let's get started with today's questions. Our first question, what do we know right now about COVID 19? I was sharing that one of the most important things we know is that the virus that causes COVID 19 is thought to mainly spread throughout respiratory droplets from an infected person when that person sneezes, coughs, or talks. We also know that spread is more likely to occur when people are in close contact with one another. And by close contact, we mean about, within about six feet. It's also a lot more likely to spread indoors than outdoors. And that's because people often tend to be closer or have closer contact within an indoor setting. We also know that there's often less ventilation indoors. The other thing I think that is important to share that we know is that people who have had COVID 19 have reported a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. And symptoms may appear anywhere between 2 and 14 days after a person has exposure to the virus that causes COVID 19. So, what are some of those symptoms that have been reported along that spectrum of COVID 19? Fever and chills, cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, fatigue or body aches, headache, runny nose, sore throat, a new sense of or loss, new loss of sense or smell. And also sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Okay, let me move to question two, because the data varies across the United States, so how can we tell with all these different symptoms and cases that we're counting if the number of cases is actually going up or down? Sure. So, in some states and regions, or specific geographic areas, depending on how it's measured, the number of cases is going up, while in other parts of the United States, the number of cases is staying steady, or in other places it's going down. So, one of the things I encourage folks to do is check daily updates on CDC's COVID data tracker. And this tracker gives a lot of information about what, what's happening across the United States with COVID 19, what the status is, what the trends are. And I can say that if you look at the tracker right now, it shows that overall, both cases and deaths of COVID 19 do continue to increase nationwide. And that would be probably at cdc. gov/covid19. Correct. Great. So, let's move to question three then. As different states resume higher levels of activity, are new COVID 19 cases increasing in some places in particular? Well, we do know that there are, nearly half of the states in the U. S. have seen increases since June 1st, for example. And we do know that that reflects community spread. And so a lot of times we hear this term of community spread. And that means that people have been infected across a community or an area, and often includes people who are not quite sure how or where they became infected. We also know that the number of cases of COVID 19 that are being reported across states throughout the country is rising due to the increase in laboratory testing and increased reporting across the country as well. So, when we're playing one of these games of 20 questions, now we're going to get to the part that asks about daily activities. So, for the fourth question, what factors should people be considering before going about their daily activities outside of the home? The whole getting back to normal thing. Yeah, it is a great question. And as I'm sure many people recognize as we are getting out more and running errands, doing other daily activities, there are things that have changed in our behaviors to help us reduce our risk. And so what do people need to know as they prepare to, you know, venture out, go to the grocery store, go to other places within the community? So, in general, it's really important to know that the more closely you interact with others, and then the longer that interaction is with other people, the higher the risk of COVID 19 exposure or spread. If people decide to engage in different types of public activities, like I just mentioned, it's important to continue, and I'll say this a lot I think in our conversation today, continue practicing those everyday preventive actions. You know, when we first started learning about COVID 19, that message has stayed consistent. So, continuing to wash your hands regularly, covering your cough and sneeze, wearing a cloth face covering are all very important as we go about daily living outside of our household. So, I also say, as I have conversations like this with others, John, is it's important as you do plan to go out and do these types of activities, you keep your stash of items with you that will help you practice those everyday activities. So, a cloth face covering, having tissues and hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol if possible. Your to go bag or your. Exactly, exactly. Like we talk about emergency kits, this is a kit for those everyday preventive actions that you can have on hand. You find yourself in a grocery store and you want the hand sanitizer, you've got to accessible. The grocery store is one thing, but question five goes a little bigger in reminding us that the July 4th weekend is coming up. So, what behaviors should people be cautious and practice to avoid catching COVID 19 at gatherings of different kinds? This is a really important and timely question because the 4th of July weekend is right around the corner. So, especially important in this type of scenario when there are larger gatherings, a lot of times they are outdoors, which is good. There are some key principles to keep in mind. And so, and I think some of the things I'm about to say apply to a lot of scenarios. But the first thing I want to share is that if you do not feel well, if you've tested positive for COVID 19, if you're showing symptoms of COVID 19, or if you had close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with COVID 19 in the past 14 days, stay home. Protecting yourself and others by staying home is important. As much as possible, continue your frequent handwashing with soap and water. And if that's not available, using the hand sanitizer I mentioned. And then in gatherings such as this on the 4th of July weekend, it's cause for celebration. And we're, you know, we gather in groups often. So, this looks a little bit different in terms of our behavior. Wearing a cloth face covering is really important in this case as well, especially when physical distancing is difficult for you to do. We're used to giving handshakes and high fives and fist bumps. So, trying to avoid those actions will help as well. And as I mentioned, your kit to take with you is important to have supplies. One of the other things is that, that I just mentioned an outdoor setting versus indoor. And I think in this case, because often these gatherings are a bit larger than just being in your backyard with maybe one other family, and keeping distance. Trying to keep the gathering outside is really important. Making sure people are apart. And trying to take into account others who might be high risk or in the, have underlying medical conditions, to ensure that they are protected at gatherings as well. The next question focuses back on the cloth face coverings specifically, asking, how should it fit, and is there a way to make it fit more comfortably so people keep them on? Like for me, for example, it makes my glasses fog up. So, any thoughts on those two topics? Sure. Well, it's exciting to see how many cloth face coverings have been made, either people making them at home or people making them and distributing them. And some of the most important things to keep in mind when we talk about a good fit and making it comfortable. So, the first thing is the cloth face covering should fit snugly against the sides of your face. And, as I said, there have been a lot of different types of cloth face coverings made with different material. And it's really important that this is comfortable. This is something we're not used to do in our daily life when we walk out the door, so finding some, a material that is really comfortable for you and allows you to breathe comfortably is important. So, for example, some people you'll see prefer having a cloth face covering that ties behind the head. Others, like the ones that loop around the ears. And to get to your question about glasses fogging up, one of the most important things is to make sure it is snugly fit at the bridge of the nose so that the breath is continuing to go down into the, into the cloth face covering, versus sneaking up and figuring up your glasses. I have that same issue, John. So, give examples then in our next question of circumstances where it would be acceptable or okay to take off your cloth face covering. Sure. And so as we mentioned, cloth face coverings are really important as you are out and about in public, going to the grocery store, gas station, or other places within your community. That's where we'll see people wearing them the most, of course. So, when you're in public, if you begin to have difficulty breathing, you feel suffocated, or you have a medical condition that is exacerbated because you're wearing the cloth face covering, certainly take the face covering off. As you take it off, it's important to try to step away from people, create that distance that we talked about, that six feet for people who are not in your household. And then one thing to really remember, I'd like to really get this message across through our discussion today, is that the cloth face coverings are meant to protect others from the respiratory droplets that you produce when you are, you know, cough or sneeze or talk. And so if you don't have it on, then it's important to try to keep that distance that we've talked about a couple times. This is really important because we know that there are some people who have the virus and they don't know it, or they're not showing symptoms at this point. So, a cloth face covering is really helping protect other people as well. Our next question goes into a special vulnerable population and asks what advice do you have for face coverings for persons with disabilities? That's a great question. I think it's important to note that CDC recognizes that cloth face coverings may not be suitable for people with disabilities or that they may need to be adapted to help people with disabilities. So, for example, people who have sensory or tactile sensitivities, they may have a hard time wearing a cloth face covering, especially for a longer period of time. And people who are deaf or hard of hearing may face difficulty communicating when they wear a cloth face covering. So, in these instances, it's really critical that if the cloth face covering cannot be worn for any of those reasons, that those other protective measures we've talked about, the handwashing, keeping physical distance, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces are really important to keep in mind. And if everyone else is wearing a cloth face covering, maybe that also can provide additional protection for that particular individual. Yeah, yeah. That's a good point. And, again, that, that whole message of my cloth face covering protects you and yours protects me, and so when there are individuals who can't wear them, that's important for those of us who can to be wearing them. Our next question kind of pits face coverings and social distancing against each other. So, is social distancing more important than wearing a cloth face covering? So, both actions are equally important. And here's why. Let me create a little bit of distinction in terms of the importance with both of these actions that we can all take. With cloth face coverings, they help contain the respiratory droplets we've talked about, I think it was with question one, that we know that the virus that causes COVID 19 can spread when respiratory droplets are produced through coughing or sneezing. So, if you have a cloth face covering on, that really helps prevent those droplets from moving and infecting someone else. And social distancing is another action that's really important, helps reduce your chance of coming into contact with the respiratory droplets that might not be captured by the cloth face covering. So, it's really important to wear the cloth face covering, especially in public settings, since we're talking about going out and about outside of our homes, where other social distancing measures might be difficult to maintain. And I'm sure as people have been moving about their daily lives and running their errands at places like grocery stores or pharmacies, sometimes that physical distance of six feet or more is tough to maintain. And that's why a cloth face covering really remains very important in combination. A few minutes ago, we talked about the upcoming July 4th holiday. What's the safest way to host gatherings at home? Well, I think early on, as you were kicking off our discussion today, John, you had talked about reducing risk. And I think that's really important as we think about this question, you know, and a lot of people are anxious and ready to have some gatherings. And one of the things that we are conveying as we talk through a spectrum of risk is looking at what's the lowest risk, and what does it look like when it gets within a higher risk category? So, let me try to break that down for you. The first thing, though, before I start talking about different risk categories, is that the more, again, I want to stress this point, the more people an individual interacts with at a gathering, and the longer you have that interaction, the higher potential of risk for spread and becoming infected with COVID 19. So, given that we know that, let's talk through a little bit about the different scenarios. So, in the lowest risk scenario, it would mean your gathering or event or activity is completely online. So, like we are today, having a conversation, we're having it virtually, that's in the lowest risk of a spectrum. When we get into a more risk, this includes smaller outdoor and in person gatherings where individuals are from different households, so maybe your neighbors come off and hang out in your backyard, they stay six feet apart, you're all wearing cloth face coverings, you're not sharing objects such as food utensils or other items. And you're all from the same local area. So, the example I just gave is neighbors coming over, somebody from the neighborhood next door. And that's the more, a little more risk, of course, than everything virtually. Higher risk is a medium size, in person gathering, where those same adaptations are made that we've just talked about. Keeping space, cloth face coverings. But you also have attendees from, coming to the gathering from outside the local area. And you might have more individuals than maybe just somebody from your neighborhood. Then the last piece I'll share in terms of large in person gatherings is where you'll see the highest risk. So, large in person gathering that makes it difficult for individuals to remain spaced apart, and for, and that has attendees who travel from maybe multiple places outside of the local area where the gathering is being held. So, the next question sort of is a take off of your last answer there where you would come into contact with lots of people from different areas. And that's what should people know about going to the grocery store? Yeah, this is such a great question, because we go to the grocery store. In our daily life, we go on a regular basis. If not weekly, we go more than that. And that's, that's what we're used to. And so certainly online and curbside pickup options are still good options, especially for individuals who are at higher risk if they contract COVID 19. But for those who go into the grocery store, I'm going to hone in on our everyday preventive actions again, so make sure the cloth face covering is on, that it fits well, like we just talked about. Before you walk into the store, make sure it's on. As much as possible, keep that physical distance of six feet or more from others while you're in the store. There are other strategies to think about, such as going to the store when there are fewer people there. That's often early in the morning or later at night. And some stores have even implemented hours for customers who are in a higher risk category for severe illness. So, finding out if that exists at your local store will be really important if you were at higher risk. So, then let's talk about the experience of walking into a grocery store. It's important that you disinfect the shopping cart and use the disinfecting wipes if they are available. In many grocery stores, they have been doing a lot of disinfecting of the carts and ensuring that as customers walk in the door, they have a clean and disinfected cart. Something else that is important, no matter what setting you're in, but when you're in a setting like a grocery store, it's even more important to not touch your eyes, your nose or your mouth with unwashed hands especially. And then as you're walking around the store, the physical distance piece that I mentioned is important. And then when you get to the checkout, if possible, use touchless payment. It just reduces the number of times you're touching high traffic objects. So, places that get touched a lot by multiple people. If you handle money, a cart, or use a keypad, be sure to use hand sanitizer right after you make your payment. And if you haven't, use hand sanitizer as you're leaving the store as well. When you get home from the grocery store, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. So, another aspect of going back to some kind of normal life is associated with restaurant use. And so question 12 focuses on how restaurants themselves can reduce risk for both their customers and their workers. Yeah, and I think that this is such a good question to look at from both the employee side, as well as the customer side. So, let's take a step back and think about restaurant employees and how to protect them and reduce risk. So, one of the first things that restaurants can do to support their employees is reinforce and encourage everyday preventive behavior, behavior. So, frequent handwashing that happens before, during, and after preparing or delivering food, after touching garbage, for example. Making sure, as a restaurant owner, to support your employees that you have enough adequate supplies to practice and support that healthy hygiene we've been talking about. So, obviously soap, which we just talked about, hand sanitizer, paper towels, tissues, cleaning supplies, like disinfectant wipes. And no touch trash cans also minimize the number of times somebody has to touch an object such as that. The other thing that's really, I would say it's for both the employees and the customers, is to make sure that there's frequent cleaning and disinfection on those high touch surfaces, such as door handles, tables and chairs, countertops, condiment holders, cash registers. So, as you start to think about being in a restaurant environment, you realize all of these aspects that both, you know, the restaurant owners, the employees and the customers should be aware of if they're venturing out and dining in. So, using touchless payment options is also great for both the employees, as well as the customers. If possible, to use disposable food service items to just reduce the amount of sharing of items. And also, because earlier in our conversation, I talked about indoors versus outdoors. So, increasing ventilation as much as possible will also be helpful to bring us some of that outdoor air. And then from the perspective of the customer. If you go to a restaurant, it's often that before COVID 19, we would wait in a crowded waiting area before we were seated waiting for our table to be open. So, implementing different measures with technology to alert a customer through a phone, for example, reduces the amount of close contact in a waiting area that normally would be crowded. And another thing is modifying the layout of the restaurant. So, we've consistently talked about keeping that physical distance of six feet. So, being able to modify the layout of tables to ensure that there's that type of distance between the tables is really important. So, next, after grocery stores and restaurants is bars and nightclubs. Is it safe to go out now? So, this is a different situation than, than, as you said, grocery stores and restaurants. And the reason for that is as people think about going to bars and nightclubs, go back to some of those principles we talked about earlier. How many people will you interact with? Is it going to be in a mostly more confined close quarter space or will there be outdoor seating as well? And if you're around more people that you are not with in your group, it just raises your risk. So, it's important to think about those types of aspects as you, you know, consider entering an establishment like a bar or a restaurant. So, trying to keep physical distance and wear a cloth face covering is something people should take into account if they decide to go into a bar or nightclub. And I think overall as we talk about any of these activities, it's also important to think about other factors that probably impact the risk I guess of an activity. So, thinking about what COVID 19 is like in your community, again, will you have a lot of close continuous contact with someone in more of a confined space? Are you yourself at risk for increased, or increased risk for severe illness, rather? And that's important in any of these settings, but I think especially because we all know that often bars and nightclubs can be a little bit more crowded. Well, along that same theme, question 14 asks us what people should know about going back to the gym. So, it's another great question because we obviously want to be encouraging and participating in physical activity as much as possible. It's so good for us in so many ways for our mental health to physical health. And so as you start thinking about going back to your fitness center or gym, some of these principles we've already talked about, some of these factors are things that should be considered. How much can you limit activity indoors? Does your fitness facility have outdoor spaces where there are group training sessions or classes? That would be more ideal than more enclosed indoor space. If classes are held indoors, it's important to ask as, as the patron what is the fitness center or gym's policy or practice in terms of limiting the number of folks who go into a class, so that there's physical distance that can be, that can happen between the people participating in the class. I think the other piece that's really important in this situation is both asking the fitness center or gym, and then as the certain going there to work out and exercise, being able to clean and disinfect equipment in between uses. And so oftentimes fitness centers and gyms have those for their members to be able to clean equipment. It's also important to ask how much the fitness center staff is also cleaning down machines that especially those that are heavily used. I think it's also important to learn a little bit more about how often items such as resistant bands and weightlifting belts or other items like that are cleaned, disinfected and sanitized in between use. So, my big take away with this is important to ask a lot of questions about what's happening at the fitness center or gym. And then practicing the behaviors we've talked about throughout our conversation. Handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and maintaining six feet apart as much as you're able to. Question 15 takes us back outdoors again. And asks, how should parents and families plan for summer activities, like visiting camps or swimming pools? Another great question. So, let me start with camps. And one of the things that I want to say before diving into some of the strategies or considerations families and parents can take related to camps is we know that socializing and interacting with peers and camp counselors can be such a healthy way for children to cope with stress and connect with others. So, this is particularly important after so many of our kids across the United States have been spending a lot of time at home. That's a, it is a great outlet from a mental, social, and emotional health perspective for kids. So, if your child goes to camp, it's important to have an understanding of how that camp is implementing different strategies and actions that we talked about. So, are they keeping campers in small groups, spacing them out, trying to minimize contact between children and prioritizing outdoor activities? So, the other strategy that can be done in a camp setting is trying to limit the item, number of items that are shared. So, stressing that each child needs to bring his or her own bag with their own belongings that they're not being shared across kids. And that includes everything from sunscreen to having prepackaged meals and other items that come from home. So, that covers camps. And then I would like to jump to pools. And one of the things that we know is that there's not evidence that COVID 19 can spread to people through the water that's used in pools, hot tubs, or water playgrounds. Proper operation and disinfection of these water sources, pools, hot tubs and playgrounds, should kill the virus that causes COVID 19. What's really important, though, is when you go to a pool, so I keep talking about this as imagine yourself walking to your community pool or your city pool, your neighborhood pool, and paying attention to the spacing of the chairs, for example. Is there the opportunity to keep yourself and you or your children six feet apart or more from others? Continuing to wash your hands is equally important. And one of the questions we've had is about cloth face coverings. Certainly wear those when you're not in the water. But before you go in the water, take off that cloth face covering. That sounds like very good advice. Question 16 switches gears a little and talks about public transit, wanting to know people need to use public transit to get to essential services, get to work, what's the best way to use mass transit services? Across the whole country, people rely on public transit, including buses and trains and other modes of transportation. And so we know that because people rely on them, it's important to stress what can you do if you're a frequent user of mass transit. And one of the things is to take note of all the kind of high touch surfaces that you could potentially come in contact with. Handrails, seats, other hard surface items. Those are all over, you know, buses and trains, and so it's important, we talked about having that kit, John. So, think about washing your hands, using your hand sanitizer, covering your cough, covering your sneeze. And it could be difficult when you're on a train or a bus, because they can be more crowded, and that is, that's the reality of our reliance on public transit is trying to keep six feet apart. And, again, this is where when we talked about, you know, whether a cloth face covering or social distancing is more important, this is where they're both important. And if, if the distance is not possible, making sure you have a cloth face covering on when you're riding. Now let's talk a little bit about mental health dimensions of living in the pandemic. Question 17 asks, or mentions that it can be hard to cope or live in this anal. What does CDC advise for maintaining mental health as the pandemic continues? This is really important, and a major consideration for people all over the country. And the question, I guess there's two questions that go about camps and pools. I talked about this a little bit in terms of kids' social, emotional, and mental health. And it's equally important for all ages. Mental health is a really important part of an individual's overall health and well being. It affects how we think, how we feel, and how we act. And it certainly can affect how we handle stress, how we relate to others, and how we go about our daily life. So, when we talk about coping and living in the age of the COVID 19 pandemic, one of the most key principles that is often hard for us to do when we're not in a pandemic is taking care of ourselves and getting enough sleep, getting physical activity, drinking enough water, eating a healthy diet, and doing things that you enjoy doing. Some of that is connecting with others. So, having virtual communication is important, staying connected to family and friends, along with other self care activities that I just mentioned. And some of the other suggestions that we often see are things like taking breaks from watching, reading or listening to the news stories. It can be really overwhelming because we have a constant flow of news. And hearing about the pandemic over and over can be upsetting, and it can impact our mental health. So, it's also important, the last thing I would share, is to take time to unwind. And so we've talked about some of the self care. Just being able to take time to relax, enjoy your family, connect with them continues to be very, very important as we cope with living within a pandemic. Another dimension of this could involve travel. So, question 18 asks, what's the safest way to travel this summer? So, we just talked about public transportation and taking trains, taking buses. There's also ride share options that people use to get around different places within their community. And I think what's most important as people consider whether they will travel in any of those, through any of those modes of transportation, what's feasible, what's practical, what's acceptable to you and your family, what meets your needs, and where, how are you able to reduce risk no matter what type of travel you do. Are you able to socially distance, wear your cloth face covering, practice those everyday preventive actions, and really understand the, if you're traveling, you know, distances, if you're taking a road trip going from one area to another, and understanding, as I mentioned, the CDC COVID data tracker is knowing, you know, what the status is like across the country as well. Well, summer will come to an end. And so question 19 takes us in that direction by asking what's CDC's thoughts and recommendations about the coming school season, reducing risk for children, families, school staff? This is such an important question right now, and CDC is very aware and having a lot of conversations about our partners within the education community. Schools are currently, and schools and school districts and states are making decisions certainly in the coming weeks about what next school year will look like. And first and foremost, we strongly recommend that schools consistently work with state and local public health officials and their local and community leaders for decision making and how to make the best decision for opening school doors and structuring classes in the fall. So, in our considerations for schools document, similar to what I talked to about hosting gatherings at your home or other places, we discussed the spectrum of risk as well. So, specifically, in the lowest risk, this is when students and teachers continue to engage in only virtual classes, activities, and events. More risk happens if it's smaller in person classes, activities, and events. And similar to what I talked about with camps is keeping groups of kids together in what we call a cohort, trying to keep them with the same teachers throughout the school day. And doing as much as possible with physical distancing, acknowledging that that can be challenging in some school settings. And then moving into a higher risk category is going back to business as usual. For example, full size, in person classes, activities, events, those are extracurricular activities that happen, you know, out of school, or maybe before and after school. In this scenario, also some students don't have as much physical distance, and there's more sharing of classroom materials and objects, or mixing between classes. So, question 20 takes us to the bottom line of this discussion. What is the bottom line message to share with friends and family when discussing what they should do to prevent catching or spreading COVID 19 to others? So, my bottom line message is that there's no way to ensure zero risk of infection. So, the bottom line, and I'll just hone in on some of the key messages we've talked about throughout this discussion today. For any activity or outing or thing that you do outside of your home, it's always important to understand that potential risks and actions that you can take to reduce your, reduce your risk of getting COVID 19. So, in general, think about how many people you will interact with, how long that interaction will be, because remember, interacting with more people for longer periods can raise your risk. Will you be indoors or outdoors? And are you going to be able to keep that six feet of distance between you and others? And finally, something I've said a lot throughout this conversation, remember to frequently wash your hands, wear a cloth face covering, keep distance of six feet when possible, frequently clean and disinfect surfaces and objects in your home, and always monitor your symptoms. And the last thing I'll share before we turn to audience questions is if you get or feel sick, please stay home. Okay, thank you very much, Sarah. According to the chat window, I have about 15 minutes to ask 895 questions. So, here we go. Can you explain more about COVID 19 elevator courtesy? Should the ventilation in an elevator always be on? Should there only be one person per elevator? Great question. I appreciate this one. So, I go back to the principles we've talked about. How long are you be in the elevator? If you have prolonged and close contact with somebody, if everyone there is wearing a cloth face covering, those are things to take into account before you step onto an elevator, or if making decisions in a building about elevator capacity, it certainly is important to think about all of those things, because it is a very confined space. Okay, there's so many of these, so I'm just going to kind of pick through them. Our state is mandating face coverings all day for teachers and students, and this seems impractical. Is this necessary? Great question. And I think that one of the most important things I can stress about this is the collaboration, communication, and coordination with local and state public health officials in decision making related to schools. And so we didn't get into a lot of detail about the school setting in terms of all the different types of strategies or actions that students, teachers, school staff, and principals and others in the school setting can take. But that, you know, does include wearing a cloth face covering when feasible. And so I think it's important to think about what makes sense to meet the unique needs of your situation and your school. And if it's not feasible to wear the cloth face covering all day every day, think about scenarios within the school day where it will be really important where physical distance can't be maintained, there's maybe more crowding with groups of students moving through the school. So, those are some of the things that are important to consider in making decisions like that. Next question. My husband works for a company where an employee and his helper tested positive. Do they report it to the health department? Does he need testing since none of them wear masks or gloves and don't socially distance? All right, thank you. So, the first part of the question related to reporting is certainly decision making at the state and local level and how their reporting systems are structured and what processes they need to go through. So, that's something that's more of a local decision. And then the second part of the question was about getting tested. Correct, John? Yep. Okay. It says does he need testing since none of them wear masks or gloves and don't socially distance? Gotcha. Well, if you look at any area of our website in terms of who should be tested, the most important thing is to consult with a healthcare provider professional who can assess whether a test is necessary or not. Okay, is there any relief in sight for easing the COVID restrictions for people in high risk categories? Another great question. I love, I love that these viewer questions are coming in, because they're so applicable to your daily lives. So, that. Well, there's, there's hundreds, so we could go on for a really long time. I can stay with you all night, everybody. So, that is another scenario where it's really a state and local decision in terms of easing restrictions or, you know, talking about if it's people in a high risk category, whether it's safer for them to go about some of these daily activities. And that will be informed by your local and state public health officials for sure. And I'm certain some of the things that they're taking into account is what does the community transmission or spread look like, and how might that impact the decision lifting restrictions? You touched on this a little bit before, but this is slightly different. It says is it safe to go to routine medical visits or should we wait until the pandemic is over? I also think that this is very specific to your own individual needs, as well as a couple other things; what the status of COVID is like in your local area, and also it's important to get mu teen medical care. And we know that a lot of us during times of staying at home for prolonged periods, we didn't go to some of those appointments. And so I would say checking in with your medical provider, just to ask about the types of actions or strategies that they're implementing, to really reduce risk and exposure in their office or clinical setting. Can you comment on safety for students that are living in dorms? Well, I cannot remember the exact website, but we do have a nice document that talks about shared housing or congregate housing. And there's some really good tips within that document that are valuable for folks to think about when they're living in this type of housing. So, it could be dorm housing, it could be other situations where you have a lot of individuals within one, one building. And this is where, you know, really, really important about the everyday preventive actions happen and that it is reinforced. If this is, this question sounds like it's coming about college students and dorms, I believe, is what you said. And so asking about cleaning and disinfecting, ensuring students have supplies on hand, and thinking about areas within a dorm that tend to be common hangout areas, very common on college campuses, how much are students going to be able to keep distance between each other. And I think those are all really important pieces when we're talking about students in dorms. Plus, it's, I'm sure all of the hand sanitizer and cloth face coverings, and, you know, an echo of those message too, probably. Yes, yes, definitely. So, this one is super specific, but I'm sure at least one person out there will be very happy to have this one answered. We are both over the age of 65 and we're in Wyoming and have an adult family who want to visit from Colorado. What ideas do you have on minimizing risk? Then there's a part two. Our other family wants to come from South Dakota with fourth grade school aged children. Good or bad id idea with the older folks? Okay, let me see if I can break that down. So, three different states with three different scenarios in terms of cases of COVID 19 and the trends that have happened in those states. I don't know all of them off the top of my head, but I think that's something to keep in mind is what transmission looks like within the states of folks who are wanting to come and visit you. Also, I know you said you're 65 and older. It's also important, and I know this doesn't come through the question, but if there are underlying medical conditions that put you at risk, something to take into account as you think about having visitors. And the last piece is will you be able to consistently, if you have these travelers come to visit you, will you be able to continue and consistently implement those everyday protective actions we've talked about? Keeping physical distance, wearing cloth face coverings, and handwashing, and cleaning and disinfecting would be really, really important. Okay, next question. What is the current length, I guess that means distance, for social distancing as of today? Well, I hope because I think I said it so many times during this afternoon's conversation that it is a minimum of six feet. And that is what we know at this point in terms of the knowledge about the virus and how it spreads. When would you consider it safe to resume guided tours of museums or historic houses for people over the age of 65? So, this is. People are making, people are making plans out there. I know. You want to know when you can do it, when it is, when is it safe. So, my thought about this question is really similar to the one of, the individual who asks about having people come to visit. And I think that knowing your own level of risk is really important, first of all, based on age, as well as some of the underlying medical conditions. And we have those listed on CDC's website if you're at higher risk for COVID 19 complications and outcomes. Also, if you can, if the group tours can instill and really encourage the use of cloth face coverings, and be able to support that physical distance of six feet that we've been talking about so much, those are really important things to consider, as I'm sure some facilities open their doors and do tours. And I think that just thinking about those things and being able to ask questions of the museum or the tour group you might be considering will be really important. So, we're up to 1,053 questions in the chat window, but I'm only going to read one more, and it has to do with the weather. It's tornado season. If I have to escape from a tornado and forget my mask, which is the worst risk? Oh, gosh. So, that is a, that's a really challenging scenario. And, in fact, there have been, during the pandemic, some of those natural disasters; tornados, earthquakes, and we, you know, have considered that a lot, because what happens when there is a natural disaster? Communities, you see, you know, the communities coming together and helping each other in those cases. And this is where I think we talked about having your personal kit, and, you know, we talked about emergency preparedness kits, and we're talking about your personal kit as you go out and about, is always knowing where your cloth face covering is. And if you can graph that, you know, as you're having to leave or take shelter, that, that's important. But obviously that is, it's a concern at the individual level with your home and your family. But if there's sheltering in place in a community facility, for example, then that distancing and the cloth face covering, the hand sanitizer are really important. And certainly if that's the scenario in a community facility sheltering in place, then there will be an increased risk. Sarah, that's all the time we have for questions. We're going to close out the discussion now. So, thank you very, very much. If we did not address your questions during today's presentation, please be sure to visit CDC's COVID 19 website, which is cdc. gov/covid, C O V I D, 19. We also encourage people to visit the website for their state and local health departments to learn the latest about COVID 19 in your local areas. For global information, please see the World Health Organization's website. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Have a great rest of your day.