Friends, Families and Supporters:
We are very happy to bring you continued good news—since our last update, we have remained COVID-19 infection free among people we support. We did have a single DSP test positive on 22 May. He had not worked since 23 April, so we were and remain unconcerned about any exposure to people we support or any other of our staff. The DSP is recovering at home and remains thankfully asymptomatic. To date, we have tested 90 total staff, 11 of whom have been positive for COVID-19 for a rate of 12.2% since the outset of the crisis in the DMV.
The State of Maryland and Commonwealth of Virginia both intend to move to Phase 2 of their re-opening plans. Montgomery County only this past Monday, 1 June, implemented Phase 1 opening. Montgomery County Executive Elrich has consistently indicated that the county will move from phase to phase based on data. At this point, no firm date for the county’s transition to Phase 2 has been communicated.
JFGH continues work on its detailed re-opening plans, which we will communicate publicly when finished so that our communities are aware of plans and how they will be implemented. We are taking a relatively conservative approach to this work, out of an abundance of caution. We will balance our caution with our commitment of self-determination; and, we recognize the growing fatigue among people we support with being ‘stuck’ inside, both literally and figuratively. They, their families and the staff that support them are anxious to restore a sense of normalcy and social connections.
As a reminder, our annual meeting will be held next Thursday, 11 June, via Zoom. You may
register here
to virtually attend.
Please be sure to run the Zoom update prior to joining the meeting, as it will be required to fully participate.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, these last 11 days have seen a different crisis. We are deeply saddened and outraged by the murder of George Floyd, which we watched on our television and computer screens incredulously. Earlier this week, JFGH issued this statement:
