As we enter the flu, cold, and COVID-19 season, it’s important to refresh our approach to keeping our community healthy and safe. Here’s a summary of the latest guidelines from the Washington State Health Department, with a few key updates on what we’re doing at Ascent Fitness.
Prevention Measures We’re ramping up our efforts to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses by:
- Improving airflow: Keeping doors open whenever possible to promote better ventilation.
- Encouraging good hand hygiene: We ask all members to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before and after class to minimize germ spread.
- Maintaining regular cleaning practices: Our cleaning wipes have been restocked! Please wipe down your mats and high touch surfaces after use. We also encourage folks to grab mats when doing exercises on the floor even for the carpeted area as they are easier to clean.
- Promoting mask use: If exposure to a respiratory virus is suspected, we encourage everyone to wear masks for added protection.
We also encourage anyone feeling unwell to reschedule their sessions or take advantage of virtual options, helping to protect fellow members and staff.
Vaccination Vaccinations are a key step in reducing the risk of severe illness from COVID-19, the flu, and other respiratory viruses. We strongly encourage all staff and members to stay current on their vaccines.
Feeling Sick? Stay Home If you’re experiencing symptoms of a respiratory virus (e.g., cough, sore throat, fever) that aren’t clearly caused by something else like allergies, or if you test positive for COVID-19 or another virus, please stay home.
The current recommendations for isolation and returning to activities include:
You can return to normal activities when both of the following have been true for at least 24 hours:
- Your symptoms are improving, and
- You’ve been fever-free without using fever-reducing medications.
For COVID-19 specifically, the recommendation is to isolate for 7 days from symptom onset and meet the above criteria before returning. When you do come back, please wear a mask for an additional 5 days and continue taking precautions to prevent the spread of illness. You may still be contagious after returning, so these added precautions are important.
Let’s work together to uphold these measures and protect our team and community during this season.
