My Dear Kindred in Christ,
Since the beginning of the quarantine, we have spoken about our guidelines as applying primarily to gatherings of "more than 10 persons." The 10-person distinction is one that the CDC uses in its description of a "medium intensity social distancing strategy" and Governor Holcomb used in his Back on Track Indiana plan as the cut-off between gatherings that were/were not allowed in Stage 1. In this diocese, the bishop's pastoral response when the case numbers are high, but certain time-sensitive services (such as weddings, funerals and ordinations) need to take place, has been to allow those services to proceed as long as they have fewer than 10 in-person participants.
10 is not a magic number. Instead it is a balance point between pastoral need and collective risk. 10 people are relatively easy to space and manage. Where several participants already share the same household, "10" might actually mean 12 or 13. Keep in mind the question of spacing and management, we ask that you not interpret "10" as more than 15.
When it is appropriate to host an Under-10 gathering depends both on the nature of the event and your county's risk zone:
Green, Green-Yellow and Yellow-Falling—Indoor and Outdoor Gathering Permitted, including both Under- and Over-10 Participants, subject to regathering guidelines.
Yellow-Rising—Outdoor Gathering—Outdoor Gathering Permitted, Indoor Gatherings limited to Under 10 Participants.
Orange—Outdoor Gathering of Over 10 Participants Not Permitted, Indoor Gatherings of Under 10 Participants Permitted only with Written Permission from the Bishop.
Red—No In-person Gathering Permitted, with Exceptions for gatherings of Under 10 Participants Permitted only with Written Permission from the Bishop.
As with so many of our guidelines, the issue of when an Under-10 Participant Gathering is called-for requires careful discernment. Because risk does not simply disappear when only 10 people are around, all other safety measures must remain in place.
On a different topic, several of you have come to me with discrepancies between the recent numbers in my spreadsheet and those you see on the state dashboard on a given day. Because there were more of these than could be explained by way of my mis-typing, I contacted the Indiana Health Department and one of the relevant County Health Departments to discover whether the numbers were being updated between the time I was recording them around noon each day and the time when you were checking my spreadsheet, up to a week later.
What I was told is that the numbers are sometimes adjusted downward within the day or two after the original posting. Common reasons for this include the realizations during subsequent contact tracing that one person underwent more than one test for the same case of coronavirus or that someone was tested in one county but actually resided in another (reporting follows the county of residence, not testing). When such situations (and others) are noticed, the state dashboard is updated.
Knowing this, I could go back and re-check the numbers for the whole week before sending out the determination on Thursdays. Re-checking 7 days of data for 15 counties, however, would both significantly delay your access to the determination and not avoid discrepancies in the data for the most recent days. I will, therefore, re-check the data for counties where a slight change would make a difference in the determination (for example, where rising numbers would shift to falling, or where a county has moved just over the boundary into a different risk zone).
The numbers, of course, are just one factor among of the pastoral concerns you must weigh as you prepare for services each week. We are always happy to consult with you about special cases and particular challenges. We give thanks to God for the effort you have been and continue investing in the safety of God's people.
Blessings,
Terri
The Rev. Canon Terri L. Bays, PhD.
Missioner for Transitions and Governance
Emergency Response NGO/Government Liaison
Attachments: 7DayRollingAverage.xlsx