COVID Updates & Resources

The purpose of our COVID-19 Mitigation Policy is to lessen the risk of our staff and our clients being exposed to COVID-19 during the course of our business. This document provides a guide for staff members to follow regarding COVID-19.

This policy applies to all staff members. 

If you have tested positive for COVID-19, you should:

• Answer the phone call from your health department: An interviewer from public health will contact you if you test positive for COVID-19, usually by phone. The interviewer will help you understand what to do next and what support is available. The interviewer will ask for the names and contact information of people you have had close contact with recently. They ask for this information so they can notify people who may have been exposed. The interviewer will not share your name with your close contacts. 

• Monitor your health: Take your temperature with a thermometer two times a day (once in the morning, once at night) and watch for fever. Also, watch for other signs and symptoms of COVID-19 such as cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell. Call your doctor if you begin showing symptoms. 

• Return to in-person work: Because we have the luxury of being an outpatient facility, and not a hospital dealing with emergencies, we will be keeping our return to in-person work timeline to:

  • 10 days after onset of symptoms or positive PCR test + afebrile and complete resolution of symptoms

  • if 100% asymptomatic since your positive test (please review the full list of symptoms), you may return to work 5 days after your positive test *and* after you have two consecutive negative rapid or PCR tests taken 24 hours apart (whichever type of test is more accessible). 

You may continue to work remotely during this time, if you are feeling well. This includes seeing clients virtually via a HIPAA-compliant video chat app. You may not, under any circumstances, interact in-person with any staff members or any clients during your period of isolation. 

• Get tested for COVID-19: Tests should be performed ASAP and again 5-7 days post exposure

• Monitor your health: Take your temperature with a thermometer two times a day (once in the morning, once at night) and watch for fever. Also, watch for other signs and symptoms of COVID-19. Call your doctor if you begin showing symptoms. 

• Do NOT return to in-person work until:

  • you are asymptomatic and receive a negative PCR test 5-7 days post last exposure OR 

  • you are asymptomatic are able to take an antigen test every morning for 10 days post last-exposure 1-2 hours before your workday begins OR 

  • you are asymptomatic and 10 days have elapsed since last-exposure  

When traveling during the pandemic, it is helpful to consider:

• Are COVID-19 cases increasing where I’m going? You could have a higher chance of getting infected.

• Is COVID-19 spreading in the DMV? You could have a higher chance of infecting others. 

• Will my family and I be able to social distance the entire trip? Being within 6 feet of others, especially in an enclosed space (like an airport or train), increases the risk of being infected and infecting others. 

• Is this travel necessary?

• Are you or anyone you’re traveling with in a high risk category? 

• Will you be visiting someone or do you live with someone in a high risk category?

• Have you prepared for the possibility of being stranded wherever you’re traveling to? As countries and states continue to put in place, lift and put in place travel restrictions again, it may be prudent to consider the risk of being stuck where you go for a period of time.

We follow the CDC’s guidance surrounding travel, which is:

Guidance for fully vaccinated travelers

• Domestic travel (within the United States or to a U.S. territory):

  • Fully vaccinated travelers are not recommended to get a SARS-CoV-2 viral test after domestic travel, unless they are symptomatic or testing is required by local, state, or territorial health authorities.

  • Fully vaccinated travelers do not need to self-quarantine following domestic travel.

• International travel:

  • Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are recommended to get a SARS-CoV-2 viral test 3-5 days after travel.

  • Fully vaccinated travelers do not need to self-quarantine in the United States following international travel.

As such, if you’ve traveled domestically, there are no testing or quarantine requirements before returning to work in person. If you’ve traveled internationally, you are recommended to get a COVID test 3-5 days post-travel if possible. As always, use your best judgment and do not return to in-person work if you have symptoms.

You should follow all state and local guidelines around limiting group sizes, social distancing, and mask-wearing. When considering attending a gathering, it is helpful to consider: 

• How are community spread rates in the location of the event?

• Will you be able to maintain social distancing?

• Are you and anyone in your household in a high risk category?

• Are precautions to limit spread being taken by event organizers? For example, have organizers asked attendees to bring their own food rather than having a buffet?

• Is the gathering indoors (generally higher risk of exposure) or outdoors?

While we cannot control any staff member’s behavior outside of work, we encourage all staff to consider the risk to yourself and people you may come into contact with before attending large gatherings. Again, please follow state and local guidance regarding gatherings, and always wear a mask and social distance.

It is each and every one of our staff members’ responsibility to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our community. As a public health organization, the Breastfeeding Center takes that responsibility very seriously. 

So we ask you to:

• Adhere to social distancing recommendations.

• Wear a mask in public. It is a requirement to wear a mask within The Center.

• Wash your hands often, especially when arriving to or leaving a space. Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands. 

• Monitor your health and contact your health care provider and take a COVID test if you develop any symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell).

In general, do what you can to limit both your risk of exposure to COVID-19 and your risk of potentially spreading COVID-19 to others. Use your best judgment, and notify your supervisor immediately if you will need to be taken off of in-person work because of a COVID-19 diagnosis, potential exposure, or travel.

As of 2/15/21 staff members* wishing to provide in-person care are required to to be fully vaccinated and to provide documentation of their vaccination status to their Administrative Supervisor for record keeping. Any staff members not fully vaccinated by 2/15/21 may continue to work remotely until they receive their second vaccine dose at which point they can resume in-person care if they so choose. This vaccination requirement is not only about risk mitigation for staff, preserving access to care, but is also to reassure clients, and to demonstrate good public health behavior. We acknowledge that choosing whether and when to be vaccinated against COVID is a personal health decision to be weighed and made with your HCP, and we invite any staff choosing to delay or opt out of vaccination to continue their work remotely until they are able to be fully vaccinated. 

As of 1/15/22 staff members wishing to provide in-person care are recommended to be fully vaccinated and boosted and to provide documentation of their vaccination status to their Administrative Supervisor for record keeping. Any staff members not boosted by 1/15/22 may continue to work, but be aware that we are required to adhere to DC government vaccine requirements and it was announced last week that they will be requiring boosters (the date has not yet been made public). This booster recommendation is not only about risk mitigation for staff, preserving access to care, but is also to reassure clients, and to demonstrate good public health behavior. We acknowledge that choosing whether and when to be vaccinated against COVID is a personal health decision to be weighed and made with your HCP, and we invite any staff choosing to delay or opt out of vaccination to continue their work remotely until they are able to be fully vaccinated and boosted. 

*ALL staff, regardless of how recently they may have tested positive for COVID, or the presumed level or length of antibody protection contained therein, are required to be fully vaccinated to perform in-person care by 2/15/21. The CDC has no minimum recommended interval between infection and vaccination other than to wait until symptoms have subsided, and recommend the vaccine even for people who have recently tested positive for COVID. The reason for this policy is not only for risk-mitigation, favoring measurable vaccine-protection over highly-variable natural immunity, and preserving access to care, but also because The Center needs the logistical simplicity provided by a deadline and boundary for vaccination status in in-person care, in order to effectively communicate with clients, and build and maintain trust with them around our COVID safety precautions.