You may have a respiratory disease (such as Covid, Flu, or RSV) if you have two or more of the following symptoms:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Sore Throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Shortness of breath and/or wheezing
• Fever
• Chills
• Muscle/body aches (common with flu)
• Fatigue (common with flu and Covid)
• Headaches
• New loss of taste of smell (Covid)
• Nausea
• Diarrhea

1. Stay home.
   1. If your symptoms are explained by something such as allergies or asthma, this is not necessary.
2. When your symptoms have begun to improve AND you have no fever without the help of medication, for the next five days:
   1. Wear a well-fitting mask (N95, KN95, KF94) when in public. (Surgical masks are not effective.)
   2. Maintain at least a 3-feet distance from other people.
   3. Wash your hands more frequently in case you have RSV and avoid skin contact with other people. Avoid touching your face.

• Stay home for 3 days.
• After 3 days, if you do not have symptoms or test positive, wear a close-fitting mask for the next five days when you are out in public.
• If you develop symptoms or receive a positive test, follow the above guidance.
• Note: CDC guidance no longer addresses the issue of exposure to infected individuals. Nonetheless, the Kirk has a substantial number of people who are older or immune compromised. These people could be seriously harmed by a respiratory infection. In addition, many of the families we serve do not have health insurance and cannot easily access treatments for flu and Covid.

• Background – Research has shown that infected members of the same household are a significant source of viral transmission. It takes 2-3 days to develop symptoms once you are infected with flu or Covid.

To help prevent viral spread from infected individuals who do not have symptoms, voice choirs should continue to use three-feet spacing side to side and six-feet spacing front to back.

• Choir members sing for longer periods of time and emit more air volume.

The Kirk has had a Covid policy since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have periodically relaxed this policy as hospitalizations have declined. This has been done in accordance with additional research findings and guidance from the CDC and the World Health Organization.

Covid continues to be a serious disease with about 18,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. per week at the time of this writing. Flu currently accounts for roughly 10,000 hospitalizations per week. RSV hospitalizations are fewer but still significant.

The CDC now recommends a unified approach to preventing the spread of respiratory infections.

• They have similar modes of transmission, symptoms, and methods of preventing their spread. Respiratory particles in the air are a key method of transmission (though RSV may also spread by surface contact).
• People do not always know which of these infections they have.