As of today, May 11th 2023, the public health emergency order in the state of Massachusetts (and country- wide) has been rescinded. It's unquestionably good news that both the number of reported COVID infections as well as its detection in wastewater has been at the lowest levels seen since the pandemic began. And there's also some evidence that the virus itself is weakening, and may be becoming less dangerous than it once was.
However, it's also important to realize that some of our friends and neighbors are immune-compromised, elderly, or have other predisposing factors that make a COVID encounter a very serious risk to their health. Nor has it escaped our notice that the seasonal colds and routine upper respiratory infections that we would commonly catch from sick clients have COMPLETELY disappeared during this 3-year period.
Because of the above, each of our practitioners will continue to wear a mask for the foreseeable future, and encourage (though not mandate) that our clients do the same. In further support of our community, our cleaning/disinfecting routines (that include wiping down high-touch surfaces; letting rooms air out for 20-40 minutes in between each client; and running air purifiers at all times) will not change.
Most importantly, if you have ANY upper respiratory symptoms at all on the day of your appointment (and there are many more viruses than just COVID!), please contact us to reschedule your appointment. If there's one thing we've learned from this whole experience, it's that if you are sneezing, coughing, or feverish, it's in the best interest of the entire community to stay home until you're feeling better (and not a health risk to others). If you do appear at our office and we think you may have an active infection - or if you've had a known or suspected COVID exposure - we'll ask you to mask while there, and reschedule your appointment for a later time if at all possible.
Let's not forget that we are still all in this together, and that we have a responsibility to each other. We're letting that be our guide during this new, post-COVID reality. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns regarding this or any other issue.