There are several upcoming procedure changes based on improving community COVID indicators. Shawnee County Health is moving away from the indicator scorecard and is now pointing people to the CDC data at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html.  It appears SCHD will still be keeping their dashboard updated (https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ea2b1340b0694c2681268b5d1476b73e) but not the weekly scorecard. The most recent SCHD indicator level was Moderate and the CDC level for Shawnee County is currently at Medium.

The following procedural changes will occur assuming the CDC community indicator level in Shawnee County is at Medium or better on each of the following days:

Monday, March 14, 2022

• Open Early Masked Time 8AM -9AM (this will begin no matter what the community level)
• Storytimes no longer require that attendees wear masks
• Current mask signs are replaced with different wording pointing to CDC guidelines (for Medium or Low community level) and mask requirement times at the library
• Staff no longer need to report out of state travel
• Staff no longer need to fill out the weekly questionnaire (please note, while the weekly questionnaire no longer needs to be filled out, staff still need to alert their supervisor if they are experiencing COVID symptoms or have been exposed to COVID).

Monday, March 21, 2022

• Masks are no longer required for staff unless they are:
  • Working the floor from 8AM – 9AM
  • Working on the Bookmobile
  • Working at a partner facility that requires a mask
• Plexiglass barriers are removed in public areas
• Pod scheduling eliminated
• Staff gatherings are allowed
• Staff can eat at their workstations
• Additional public computers reinstalled in Kids Library
• Public computer time limits increased to 3 hours (update: Team Room time limits will also increase to 3 hours)
• Additional seating brought back in public areas

While masks will no longer be required, anyone may choose to wear a mask even if the CDC community level is in the green or yellow. We plan to still provide masks for customers who wish to wear them.

Staff should continue let their supervisor know if they have COVID symptoms or have been exposed. We will continue to follow our current procedures before allowing someone to return to work.

We plan to wait until the community level is at green before removing the mask requirement on Bookmobiles and the Learn and Play Bus. Once this change is made we will let everyone know.

Thank you all for being flexible during this time. Unfortunately, we will need to continue to monitor the situation and may need to make changes throughout the year as things evolve. Hopefully our experience over the last couple of years will allow us to better anticipate the changes that need to be made and pivot as quickly as possible. Thanks!