- Good afternoon Fowler Family!
- Tomorrow at 2pm we will hold our third community-wide singalong right here from the chapel on Channel 6.
- COVID Numbers
- Yesterday, Dallas County reported 454 new cases and 3 deaths
- Total of 17, 299 cases and 317 total deaths
- Health experts continue to focus on hospitalizations, emergency room visits and intensive care unit admissions as key indicators of how COVID is spreading
- These statistics are not available today because of a lag in weekend reporting
- As of Friday, hospitalized patients in Dallas County had risen 54% since the beginning of June
- Parkland and UTSW are both expanding their COVID bed availability as infectious disease experts predict a surge in cases and hospitalizations ahead of the fourth of July Weekend
- Judge Jenkin’s latest order went into effect June 19 until August 4:
- All business entities in Dallas County providing goods or services must implement a Health and Safety Policy that requires all employees and visitors on premise to wear face coverings
- We developed our Health and Safety Policy months ago and will post today in conspicuous locations in compliance with the order – essentially it is our Love Your Neighbor Basics
- Failure to comply with this order may result in a fine not to exceed $500 for each violation
- We have asked you to comply in wearing masks and now you need to know, that not wearing a face mask in any common area at Fowler is not acceptable
- Your apartment is your home; you do not need to wear your mask in your apartment UNLESS there is a caregiver with you – then you should both be wearing masks at all times
- Masks must be worn in all common areas
- Highlights from Governor Abbott’s press conference yesterday:
- We are now spreading at an unacceptable rate
- New cases: 1500 cases/day end of May to 3500/day now
- Hospitalizations: 1600 end of May, now 3200 hospitalizations
- Positive case rate: grown from 4.5% to 9%
- The State is working with the CDC and hospitals throughout the state to make sure they have the capability to meet the need
- TABC is shutting down bars who are not complying
- Some counties are shutting down some of their parks
- Our numbers in day care centers have grown dramatically – 410 cases at 318 licensed day care centers
- Closing Texas back down will always be the last option
- We must take action NOW or the spread will ultimately lead to closure
- Governor’s Recommendations
- You are safer at home
- Maintain social distance recommendations of at least 6 feet
- Sanitize surfaces and wash your hands frequently
- Wear face coverings
- Wearing a mask is not an infringement of freedom
- It is not an inconvenience
- It is necessary
- COVID has not gone away, but neither has our ability to slow the spread
- We must find ways to return to daily life while co-existing with virus
- We shouldn’t have to choose between jobs and health
- We can protect lives and restore livelihoods
- We need to have a sense of community – its not just about protecting yourself, its also about protecting your neighbors
- Here at Fowler
- We are still awaiting the results of the COVID tests that were performed last Thursday at Fowler – we hope to have those results today
- We are cautiously optimistic as no one is experiencing any symptoms
- Our team member is out of the hospital and recovering at home
- Next week is 4th of July weekend – there will be no grocery deliveries on Saturday, July 4. When making your grocery orders, do not schedule for Saturday, July 4
- We are learning to live with COVID, residents and teammates alike.
- Each one of you has been empowered to make decisions about your coming and going
- Do not assume that everyone is taking the same precautions you are
- The largest numbers are now in the 18-30 age group – people outside of your household – such as your grandchildren – are probably going to work, grocery shopping, they may even be going to restaurants, bars and gyms
- Restaurants, bars and gyms are hot spots
- Your decision to see friends and relatives outside of your household requires additional information
- Here are questions you need to ask yourself and others in making these decisions
- Have you been socially isolating or going to public places?
- When going to public places, are you wearing your mask?
- Are you exhibiting symptoms – Fever? Cough? Respiratory illness?
- If any symptoms are present – NO
- Let’s review the recommendations we have provided over the past 12 weeks:
- Love your Neighbor Basics
- Stay home and stay safe
- Wear your mask
- Residents, if a caregiver comes to your apartment, you need to put on a mask
- Your caregiver must keep their mask on the entire time they are in your apartment
- Use hand sanitizer and/or wash your hands frequently. Keep sanitizer in your purse – do not leave it in your car, its flammable
- Wipe down hard surfaces, your counters, your steering wheel, nobs, handles
- Use telehealth when appropriate
- Stay home if you are ill or if you know you have been exposed to COVID
- Teammates, get out of your work clothes when you get home and wash them immediately
- Don’t go building to building. We can minimize spread here at Fowler by containment
- Some of you may be feeling COVID fatigue
- You may have thought this would only last a few weeks
- Some of you are realizing its not going away, COVID will be with us for a while
- Testing is a part of our new norm, masks are a part of our new norm, social distancing is the new norm
- And less you think COVID won’t come to you. COVID hits anyone – it does not discriminate, young/old, male/female, rich/poor
- Add in the current news and you may feel depressed
- I have just finished reading Dan Millmann’s book “Living on Purpose”
- By paying attention to the present moment, and the next and the next, we determine the quality of our lives
- Maintain awareness in the here and now. Now is tolerable; now you can deal with; now is your moment of power and courage. Life is a series of nows.
- Whenever you notice your attention loitering or lingering on the past regrets or future anxieties, first ask
- “Am I relaxed?”
- “Am I breathing fully and evenly?”
- “Am I acting, moving or behaving with refinement, quality and elegance?”
- Give your full attention to whatever you are doing in the moment and do it with a sense of grace and elegance
- Words are powerful
- These words give me peace – they are the opposite of chaos
- No past. The past exists only as brainwaves registering as memories, which are often distorted and very different from the events themselves
- No future. We only have our imaginings – a set of probabilities or improbabilities that something may happen but which rarely turn out precisely as we anticipated
- We only have now – reality arising moment to moment.
- Facebook Inspiration – author unknown
- “Sometimes I just want it to stop. Talk of COVID, protests, looting, brutality. I lose my way. Become convinced that this “new normal” is real life.
- But then I meet an 87 year-old who talks of living through Polio, diptheria, Vietnam protests and yet is still enchanted with life. He seemed surprised when I said that 2020 must be especially challenging for him. “No” he said slowly looking me straight in the eyes, “I learned a long time ago to not see the world through the people that surround me. I see the world with the realization that we love big. Therefore, I just choose to write my own headlines. “Husband loves wife today.” “Family drops everything to come to Grandmas bedside.” He patted my hand. “Old man makes new friend.”
- His words collide with my worries, freeing them from the tether I had been holding tight. They float away. I am left with a renewed spirit. My headlines now reads, “Woman overwhelmed by the spirit of kindness and the reminder that our capacity to love is never ending.”
- What will be your headline today?
- Name it, claim it, proclaim it and live it.
- Make it a great day on purpose!
All Daily Updates are posted on our website – www.fowlercommunities.org/covid19/
COVID Hotline: Phone: 214-515-7184 • Spanish Speaking Line: 214-515-1385
Email: Covid19info@fowlercommunities.org
COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week toll-free at 833-986-1919
