Let's all be safe! Here's how we can help ourselves and each other.

• Flu vaccine– if you have not already done so, the health department is strongly encouraging everyone to get a flu shot.
• Personal space– remain 6 feet or more away from others when possible, particularly if they are unknown to you.  Airborne contaminants can travel up to 6 ft.
• Hand washing– frequent and thorough (20 seconds or more)
• Cover cough/sneeze– with a sleeve, tissue or handkerchief – if your hand is used, wash your hands.
• Feeling sick– stay home and seek medical attention if symptoms worsen.
• Clean surfaces frequently– in your home and at work. MCSD has implemented protocols to increase emphasis on cleaning surfaces.

CDC Guidelines:

The following simple personal habits are essential for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.  Good reminders for everyone:

• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds– especially after you have been in a public place, or after coughing or sneezing.
• Use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands– perhaps the hardest one to comply with.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily – like doorknobs, light switches, desks, phones, keyboards, faucets, etc.
• Avoid contact with people who are sick or showing flu-like symptoms
• Social distancing– maintain at least 6 feet of separation between yourself and other people.
• Stay home if you are sick– seek medical attention (there are specific guidelines for doing so) if you exhibit flu-like symptoms.

Leadership Advice, shared by Kathy Tunheim, the CEO and Principal at TUNHEIM High School.

1. Commit to doing the right thing. If you are a leader held in high (or even just middling) regard by your stakeholders, it is time to put that on the line. You can’t accurately or honestly predict all that is going to be required, so don’t be pushed down that rabbit hole. People need to have and keep confidence that the people making decisions are making the best ones possible at each milestone of this unfolding situation. 
2. Share what you know, acknowledge what you don’t. Encourage others to do the same. While there may be people who want to be comforted and told ‘everything will be fine,’ an ethical leader cannot go there unless and until she is convinced it’s the truth. But by consistently adhering to this rule, you gain people’s confidence and increase their capacity to act rationally. 
3. Keep offering perspective and hope. This is tricky – trying to sound hopeful can slip into breaking rule #2. But perspective is essential, and delivered effectively, it triggers people’s inherent inclination to think positively. So try reminders of what we’ve learned so far, recall of lessons from past global challenges, acknowledgements that people are doing amazing things to help their neighbors and communities, encouragement to experience this ‘down time’ as an opportunity to engage with family, nature and faith. 
4. Be present. Finally, finding ways to ‘be’ with people even as we socially distance and shut the economy down is a challenge. But we have tools aplenty, so unleash your/your team’s creativity: social channels, earned media, advertising all have pipelines expanding to deliver content that people are craving. Importantly, we need to get better at tailoring messages as this experience prolongs: who needs to hear what, when? How best to deliver that to them? Luckily, that expertise is also in good supply. Lean on it.