Agenda - Council - 08/10/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember introduced the following resolution and moved for its adoption: RESOLUTION #20-163 DEMONSTRATING VALUES OF KINDNESS AND RESPECT DURING UNPRECEDENTED TIMES WHEREAS, SARS-CoV-2 is novel strain of coronavirus that had not been previously identified in humans and causes COVID-19 (coronavirus 2019) a respiratory/vascular disease that is mild with no symptoms for most people but results in serious illness or death for others, and WHEREAS, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is thought to spread easily when individuals are in close contact with each other (within three to six feet) through respiratory droplets or aerosolization of the tiny 0.125 micron virus. (Experts say people may get COVID-19 by simply breathing the air or by touching a contaminated surface or object and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes); and WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC); and WHEREAS, the Governor's Executive Order 20-01 declared a State of Emergency for the entire State of Minnesota and urged all citizens to heed the advice of the Minnesota Department of Health to protect their health and safety; and also provided education to local governments and residents including social distancing, hand washing, and quarantining when symptomatic; and WHEREAS, the CDC has advised those with possible or confirmed COVID-19 to stay home from work, school, and away from other public places; and WHEREAS, a local and statewide State of Emergency continues to exist with limits on mass gatherings and requirements of physical distancing; and WHEREAS, the WHO states in their interim guidance on masks: "At present, there is no direct evidence (from studies on COVID-19 and in healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19" (and noted harms such as difficulty breathing, skin rashes, and the dangers of self - contamination by failure to use, wash, handle or dispose of masks correctly); and WHEREAS, the National Academy of Science wrote in April: "There are no studies of individuals wearing homemade fabric masks in the course of their typical activities" and added, "The current level of benefit, if any, is not possible to assess"; and WHEREAS, two respiratory protection professors at the University of Illinois at Chicago wrote on April 1: "Sweeping mask recommendations —as many have proposed —will not reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission, as evidenced by the widespread practice of wearing such masks in Hubei province, China, before and during its mass COVID-19 transmission experience earlier this year. Our review of relevant studies indicates that cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control [protecting others] or as PPE [protecting self]," and WHEREAS, a primary concern of former CDC interim director epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, PhD (who said, "if you don't have an N95 [mask] you're not protected") is that those at risk of