This Q1 2020 article will diverge from the normal focus on strictly stormwater information. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic there are many questions and uncertainties as we all look for answers. One recommended social practice now being accepted worldwide is Social Distancing. The following information comes from a New York Times article titled “Wondering about Social Distancing” by Apoorva Mandavilli on 16-MAR-2020.

Here in the US our President has now endorsed a voluntary practice of “social distancing” but what does this really mean?  “Put simply, the idea is to maintain a distance between you and other people — in this case, at least six feet.” That also means minimizing contact with people. Avoid public transportation whenever possible, limit nonessential travel, work from home and skip social gatherings — and definitely do not go to crowded bars and sporting arenas. “Every single reduction in the number of contacts you have per day with relatives, with friends, co-workers, in school will have a significant impact on the ability of the virus to spread in the population,” said Dr. Gerardo Chowell, chair of population health sciences at Georgia State University.”

Please click on this link to see discussions about these additional questions:

So, how long will we need to practice social distancing?

That is a big unknown, experts said. A lot will depend on how well the social distancing measures in place work and how much we can slow the pandemic down. But prepare to hunker down for at least a month, and possibly much longer. In Seattle, the recommendations on social distancing have continued to escalate with the number of infections and deaths, and as the health system has become increasingly strained. “For now, it’s probably indefinite,” Dr. Marrazzo said. “We’re in uncharted territory.”

This unique situation we find ourselves in, we here at Earthworks provide the utmost professional service to all our clients. We know the situation is different for each of you so as we learn how each state is handling shelter-in-place mandates we will continue to inspect sites with limited face to face interaction. We wish to respect the space needed to keep everyone safe while upholding the federally mandated compliance schedules. We will keep in contact with each site to work with individual site needs.

If you have questions or concerns, please each out to our Corporate offices at (480) 436-0041.