by Kirsten Moore, Cooperative Services Director
The pandemic goal posts keep moving, and the guidance and science continues to evolve, sometimes very quickly! COVID-19 prevention guidance changed right after press time for the August Reader due to the Delta variant becoming the dominant strain locally and so we were unable to provide an update last month. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made their new recommendations based on evidence that the Delta variant is more contagious than other COVID-19 variants. Science is currently showing that even though vaccines do dramatically reduce the possibility of infection and the possibility of serious health complications from COVID-19, when a person is vaccinated and experiences a rare breakthrough Delta variant infection, the protection the vaccine provides doesn’t always extend to protecting the vaccinated person from passing a Delta variant infection to someone else. As COVID-19 is an airborne virus and the Delta variant is a more contagious strain, only about 50% of the population nationwide has completed vaccination as of August 12, and the science currently demonstrates that the next best preventative measures to vaccination are face coverings and ventilation, the CDC placed its focus on face coverings. They recommended masking in indoor public spaces and at private gatherings for all people over the age of two-years-old in counties with substantial or high transmission. Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) adopted those guidelines immediately, as Dane County quickly met the CDC’s definition of a locality with substantial (and then high) transmission even with about 68% of the population fully vaccinated at press time.
Face Coverings Currently Required for all Employees & Customers
On the week of the CDC’s announcement, the Co-op management and employees’ union agreed to reinstate the face covering requirement for employees effective August 2. All employees, regardless of vaccination status, were required as of that date to wear face coverings in accordance with the PHMDC guidance locally. On August 17, PHMDC issued a Face Covering Emergency Order requiring face coverings to be worn (starting August 19) by people ages two and older when in any enclosed space open to the public where other people, except for members of the person’s own household or living unit, are present. See our full policy at www.willystreet.coop/about-us/store-policies. We will continue to monitor and follow PHMDC guidance.
Vaccination Continues; Our Workforce Vaccine Rates are On Track
Vaccination is still the most effective form of prevention for COVID-19, and getting vaccinated if you are eligible and able will support your community and our workforce when you shop. Breakthrough COVID-19 infections of vaccinated people remain rare, even with the Delta variant present. In fact, on August 12, PHMDC reported that COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people in Dane County were 2.8 times higher in unvaccinated residents than in fully vaccinated residents. Studies also are showing that when vaccinated people do catch COVID-19, there is less likelihood of severe complications such as hospitalization or death. As we have previously reported, the Co-op continues to encourage employee vaccination to support a healthy workplace and healthy community, and we continue to seek ways to offer support and opportunities for employees to get vaccinated and learn about the prevention of both the flu and COVID-19. The Co-op has continued its temporary agreement with the employees’ union to offer extended COVID-19 leave options and both flexible paid and unpaid leave options for receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. We have been tracking COVID-19 vaccination among our workforce anonymously since our workers became eligible, and PHMDC has since recommended businesses conduct anonymous polling for vaccine status. Based on the voluntary responses of over 70% of our workforce and growing, we know our completed vaccine rate has trended higher than the County’s overall population, and that it’s very likely our vaccine rate is significantly higher when we account for those who have not opted-in to completing the poll yet.
Ventilation and Barriers
We have received a number of questions from customers about removing the barriers at the checkout lines. They were scheduled for removal before the changes to public health guidance to respond to the Delta variant. Current public health guidance suggests that the three best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are vaccination, wearing face coverings, and good ventilation. While we were one of the very first businesses in town to adopt these barriers when the science suggested COVID-19 was mostly transmitted via droplets and not airborne, we have learned more as the information about barriers has evolved. The first barriers we removed were between employees at the registers at East and West and behind registers at North at the request of our employees’ union because the barriers were uncomfortable and our employee vaccination rate was (and remains) high. As we looked into the efficacy of barriers in general, the Co-op learned not only that it is unlikely barriers protect from airborne illness nearly as adequately or efficiently as wearing face coverings, but that they also may inhibit air flow in the work areas around them. So, when we reinstalled the registers we removed last winter at East and West, we scheduled all of the barriers at checkout for removal. There is no local public health guidance that currently recommends barriers. All employees and customers are empowered (and currently required) to wear face coverings, and that provides better protection than barriers. With mixed information around the efficacy of barriers, better protection through masking, and better air flow, the Co-op has not scheduled barriers to return at this time. The barriers are available for reinstall later if public health guidance changes or becomes more clear.
Delivery and Pickup Services Still Available
It’s still an option to use our grocery delivery and curbside services if you prefer to avoid shopping indoors. Online shopping orders can be placed for delivery or pickup from any of our three stores on a desktop computer. We just recently expanded delivery service into Sun Prairie and its surrounding areas, and you can check the website for our full delivery zone. We also have select lunch and dinner delivery options available via EatStreet on any device. Visit www.willystreet.coop/pages/curbside-pickup-options for all our online shopping services.
There is Ample Space to Shop!
During the PHMDC public health emergency declaration the Co-op installed technology on our front doors to count store occupancy. We did this to support our efforts to keep occupancy well below the capacity limits issued in previous PHMDC emergency orders. PHMDC previously limited capacity based on the gross square footage of the entire business space (retail and employee-only spaces combined), and the Co-op was limiting capacity based on the smaller retail square footage, since that is where the majority of customers and employees at our retail sites spend their time. Since June 2, when the emergency orders were lifted, we have no longer enforced a limit, yet we have continued to monitor our occupancy counts. Transactions per hour have started to increase since the end of the public health emergency, but the total number of people in the stores during peak times has changed very little. As of August 10, the last time we reviewed occupancy levels as part of our COVID-19 Team meetings before publication, employees and customer occupancy at Willy East was reaching 56% on average during peak shopping times, 36% at Willy North, and 42% at Willy West. That means that even when people might be shopping the stores a little more often, they are also moving through the stores a bit faster (perhaps due to shopping more frequently and maybe not buying quite so much all at once). The statistics we are seeing related to transactions and occupancy show that we continue to have ample space for shopping with distance between others. Pre-pandemic transactions rates show that while we were still a bit busier back then, it is highly unlikely our shoppers would ever fill our stores to capacity.
Check Our Website for Slower Shopping Times
Some people may still want to seek slower times to shop, and you can feel free to use our website or Google business to check out current capacity trends or typical busy times. You can find out how busy our stores are currently by visiting www.willystreet.coop and looking at how busy we are in real time where the store locations and phone numbers are listed. If you are planning ahead to shop, you can check our Google Business listing to find both popular and unpopular times to shop.
- Willy East: http://g.page/WSC-east
- Willy North: http://g.page/WSC-north
- Willy West: http://g.page/WSC-west
Other Things You Can Do To Prevent COVID-19
Under the circumstances, and in combination with vaccination and following masking guidance, we still recommend all people stay home and get tested if sick (as mentioned earlier, we have ways to provide your groceries without your needing to enter the store). Please practice good hand hygiene, properly cover your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze, avoid touching your face and face covering, and maintain physical distance when possible. These tactics are especially important if you or someone you live with are unvaccinated or at risk for severe disease.
Thank You For Doing Your Part
We are grateful to all of our Owners who have supported us both by continuing to shop with us and doing your part to keep our entire community safe. We appreciate all of you who have gotten vaccinated when able to do so, and we’re also thankful for your willingness to continue to wear your face coverings at the Co-op whenever public health guidance recommends this course of action. Keep up the good work, and do what you can to keep your spirits high at this time. It’s not easy right now, but we are still making a difference as we learn more and grow through this pandemic together.