Vaccinated personnel on Redstone can start putting names with faces again.
The Department of Defense published new guidance on the use of masks on military installations last week. In short, it said if it’s been two weeks since your last round of the COVID-19 vaccine, then you no longer have to wear a mask, which is in line with the recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.
The new policy relies on an honor system, and Garrison Commander Col. Glenn Mellor is confident that people will follow it.
“I am optimistic that in general, we are an honorable workforce that will do the right thing,” he said. “Will there be those who have not been vaccinated who won’t wear a mask – absolutely. So this is a question that each of us needs to ask ourselves and our own medical conditions have to be considered.
“As our COVID numbers continue to decrease – in part from those who do get the vaccine – this will become less of a problem for all.
“While I support everyone’s own decision on whether to get vaccinated or not, in my position, because I meet a lot of people and go different places, it was the right decision for my family to get vaccinated.”
Mellor added that people should not be put in a position of being shamed into getting the vaccine. That’s why ensuring people’s right to keep their medical information private was so important.
“Individuals’ rights to their medical privacy should never be allowed to be used against them for any reason, and this is why HIPPA is so important,” he said.
The Garrison is postured to welcome up to 80% of the workforce back on post, but bringing workers back is up to the leadership of each tenant.
Within the Garrison, about 70-80% of the workers have returned to working in-person, according to Mellor.
The new mask policy is indicative of the overall situation regarding COVID-19.
Another indicator is the current Health Protection Condition at Redstone. There are five HPCON levels: Zero, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. The current HPCON is Bravo.
Mellor said HPCON 0 means there is no community transmission, and based on the current COVID transmission rates, a “return to this phase does seem possible in the near future.”
HPCON Alpha is when community transmission is being limited.
“In Alpha (for COVID), daily average rates need to be fewer than two new cases per day per 100,000 population in the last seven days.”
Right now, in the counties around Redstone Arsenal, there are 6.2 new cases a day per 100,000, as of press time.
“While these policies (the mask policy and the HPCON) are independent of one another, they also both point to the steady decline in numbers of COVID patients in the Redstone Area of Operations, which is where most of our workforce comes from,” Mellor said.
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2021 11:38 |
| Story ID: | 397513 |
| Location: | HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 159 |
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