Dear Hope Teams,
I am pleased to report that our programs at Hope Services have continued to provide on-site and field programming this past month. Phase III was scheduled on August 15, 2021 and we were slated to welcome an additional 25% of you back to our day programs during this time. However, the Delta coronavirus variant caused us to reconsider the timing for our third phase. This decision was made based on the fact that the Delta variant is more infectious and transmissible, leading to a surge in cases and hospitalizations throughout the United States. In late June, the 7-day moving average of reported cases was around 12,000. On July 27, the 7-day moving average of cases reached over 60,000. This case rate looked more like the rate of cases seen before the vaccine was widely available. Given the surge in cases, we decided to change our Phase III date from August 15, 2021 to September 15, 2021.
While this was a difficult decision, the rapid rise in cases this past month has prompted Hope Services to reconsider Phase III of our plan to ensure all of your safety and well-being. Phase III would have increased the total numbers of you attending in-person day programs to between 70% - 90% of our current enrollment. Given the need to keep our enrollment smaller, we decided to pause Phase III. Despite the pause, we will continue to plan and prepare for it. This includes scheduling your IDT meetings for any of you participating in Phase III.
In addition to pausing Phase III, Hope Services no requires mandatory testing as of 8/20/21. To continue to ensure everyone's safety, Hope will have mandatory COVID testing for staff for the duration of this current Delta variant surge. The intent of this testing is to limit the possibility of a spread throughout our programs.
Updates to our Master Safety Re-entry Plan will be given to staff in early September. Hope Service’s re-entry plans will be aligned and consistent with local orders and ordinances of the counties where we operate, as well as the State of California’s COVID-19 Prevention Plan regulation. We will also follow recommendations from the federal government, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Hope Services COVID-19 Committee. Knowledge and understanding of the COVID-19 virus and Delta variant continues to evolve, and our policies and plans will be updated as information becomes available.
As a reminder, vaccines in the US are highly effective, including against the Delta variant, and continue to reduce a person’s risk of contracting the virus that cause COVID-19, including this variant. They are also highly effective at preventing severe disease and death, including against the Delta variant. But they are not 100% effective and some fully vaccinated people will become infected (called a breakthrough infection) and experience illness. For such people, the vaccine still provides strong protection against serious illness and death. Given what we know about the Delta variant, vaccine effectiveness, and current vaccine coverage, layered prevention strategies, such as wearing masks, are needed to reduce the transmission of Delta.
We ask that you please continue to follow CDC guidelines both at Hope Services and in the community so we can all do our part to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Thank you for your cooperation.
Charles “Chip” Huggins, JD • President/CEO
