Determining your Social Distance Group Plan
Determining your Social Distance Group Plan
Social Distance Group and Plan assumptions:
To start you planning complete the following form:
What is the name of your Social Distance Group? _____________________________
What parameters determined the formation of this group? _________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What is the size of the group? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
To decrease risk of exposure what will this group do in the following areas?
Determining your Social Distance Group Plan
Social Distance Group and Plan assumptions:
- During a pandemic, everyone is susceptible to pandemic influenza.
- Pandemic influenza vaccine will not be available for months to years.
- Antiviral medication will be used mainly to treat those who are sick and therefore not available to the general public.
- The purpose of social distancing is to reduce the spread of influenza to lessen the impact of the pandemic on society and especially on the medical care system. In addition, it may enable some to avoid infection until vaccine is available.
- Small groups are better than big groups, because it reduces to risk of exposure.
- Groups could be formed around an aspect of life, like work, church or neighborhood. Work is likely to be the most common aspect determining the formation of a group, because of the necessity of earning a living.
- Droplet spread is defined as large droplets (particles >5 mcm) generated when infected person coughs or sneezes. This is the predominant mechanism of influenza virus transmission. Therefore, people who are less than 3 feet from an infected people have the greatest risk of infection.
- Airborne spread is another way that of influenza virus spreads. It is defined as smaller particles (particles <5 mcm) which are created when droplets dry out . These particles are called droplet nuclei. They can float in the air for an unknown period of time in enclosed spaces.
- Fomite transmission is defined as objects, like contaminated hands or surfaces, that a person touches and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. This is a third, least documented, mechanism of influenza virus transmission. Frequent hand washing may work, but not as well as avoiding face-to-face contact less than 3 feet away and staying out of enclosed spaces that contain crowds.
- Contaminated surfaces can transmit influenza for 24 hours.
- People infected may not get sick or show symptoms and could be source of infection. People can be contagious 24–48 hours before illness.
- People are most contagious when they are ill.
- After onset of symptoms, adults are contagious for 1 week and children are contagious for 2 weeks.
- There is little documentation to conclude that using masks will reduce the risk catching or spreading influenza, but N95 masks should theoretically reduce the risk of breathing in virus contained in droplets or droplet nuclei. In addition, wearing even regular masks could reduce the production of droplet nuclei by catching most of the droplets produced by an infectious person.
- The role of the government will be:
- Investigate the influenza virus and disseminate the information that will assist the general public and the Social Distance Groups. These include:
- The chance of dying in various high risk and age groups.
- Investigate the location of cases and the pace of spread.
- Estimate the efficacy of various modes of transmission.
- The chance of dying in various high risk and age groups.
- Provide accurate information about the course of the pandemic.
- Determine priority groups for antiviral medications and distribute them.
- Determine priority groups for vaccine, and distribute it, when available.
- Test blood to determine who is immune to influenza, so those that are immune can again participate normally in society and so that vaccine is not wasted on them.
- Suspend mandatory school attendance requirement.
- Provide alternatives for schooling.
- Government officials will not:
- Close schools. You will decide when you should keep you child out of school and educate them with some kind of alternative.
- Quarantine towns or counties or restrict travel. You will decide when and where you will travel.
- Cancel community/sports gathering. You will need to decide whether or not to attend based on the information about the epidemic.
To start you planning complete the following form:
What is the name of your Social Distance Group? _____________________________
What parameters determined the formation of this group? _________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What is the size of the group? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
To decrease risk of exposure what will this group do in the following areas?
- Avoiding face-to-face contact within 3 feet with those outside the group.
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- Avoiding air possibly contaminated with influenza:
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- ___________________________________________________________
- Avoid exposure to surfaces possibly infected with influenza virus.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- Transportation.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- Social gatherings.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- What food is eaten.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- Religious services.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- Visits by necessary repairman.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- If any member of the group develops respiratory symptoms
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
- Purchase of gasoline.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
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- Waste elimination needs.
- __________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________
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