Dear Fellow Congregants,
The Shir Chadash Health Committee was formed in March 2020 to provide guidance to the synagogue Board on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and, subsequently, broader health issues affecting the community. The committee has met regularly since the pandemic began, providing periodic briefings to the Board. The committee met recently, and we want to share our current recommendations with the community.
We have taken a conservative approach to gradually re-opening Shir Chadash, including in-person religious services, out of an abundance of concern for the health and safety of congregants and staff. Considering national, state, and local (Orleans and Jefferson Parish) guidelines, we have made a practice of using the most stringent recommendations for safe in-person gatherings and we plan to continue doing so.
To this end, given that our current in-person mitigation measures have kept our congregants and staff safe, we will continue to offer our current level of in-person Shabbat morning service offerings at Shir Chadash. Since it is clear that the numbers of COVID-19 cases are on the rise, we do not plan to increase the amount of in-person offerings and we will not be lowering our mitigation measures at this time.
We have decided not to open Shul school to in-person offerings at this time; however, we plan to continue to assess conditions for when we think Shul school can be safely opened in some way.
The Health Committee also recognizes the toll that social isolation has had on the mental health of our community in general and on some at-risk individuals specifically. We have recommended that the board and community overall do everything it can to stay in touch with, take care of, and look out for one another during these difficult times.
Lastly, we encourage everyone to get the flu shot if you haven't already done so (and the COVID vaccine as soon as it is widely available). During this time of Hanukkah and the approaching secular new year, we also want to remind everyone of the importance of limiting family, social and work gatherings. By doing so we are helping protect each other.
The Health Committee
Dr. Evan Dvorin, Chair
Dr. Diane Africk
Dr. Edward Bluth
Dr. Julie Finger
Dr. Leron Finger
Ken Klein
President
