7. Memo 21-07 Discussion of Resuming In-Person MeetingsPage 1 of 2
City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
DATE: February 16, 2021
FROM: Ken Cammilleri, City Administrator
Mike Hinz, Fire Chief
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
RE: Discussion on Resuming In-Person Meetings During Covid-19
When considering the resumption of in-person meetings, the National Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that individuals do not gather with
people who do not live together at this time. The agency states that attending events and
gatherings increases the risk of getting and spreading Covid-19, which directly impacts the
overall hospitalizations and deaths in our community.
The more people an individual interacts with at a gathering and the longer that interaction
lasts, the higher the individual’s potential risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 and
then spreading COVID-19 to others. The higher the level of community transmission in the
area where the gathering is held, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spreading at the gathering.
The CDC notes that size or attendance risk of COVID-19 spreading at events and
gatherings increases as follows:
• Lowest risk: Virtual-only activities, events, and gatherings.
• More risk: Smaller outdoor gatherings in which individuals from different
households remain spaced at least 6 feet apart, wear cloth face coverings, do not
share objects, and come from the same local area (e.g., a community, town, city, or
county).
• Higher risk: Medium-sized in-person gatherings that are organized/laid out to allow
individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart, some wear cloth face coverings and
come from outside the local area (e.g., a community, town, city, or county).
• Highest risk: Large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain
spaced at least 6 feet apart, do not wear cloth face coverings and travel from outside
the local area.
We are currently up to 230 cases in the 55073 zip code and 189 in the 55047 zip code as
February 25. That’s 8 more confirmed cases in 55073 and 2 more confirmed cases in 55047
since February 18th. Comparing these numbers to our peak month of November, the
overall transmission rate in the community has slowed.
Page 2 of 2
City of Scandia
14727 209 th St. N. PO Box 128, Scandia, Minnesota 55073
Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.ci.scandia.mn.us
However, Washington County, as of February 25, 2021, has a positive test rate of 7.4% but
has a overall 50% reduction in testing. (To put the reduction of Covid-19 test, in November
of 2020 there had been a total of 17,838 test completed compared to this February only
having 8,364 test completed.) So, it is reasonable to infer from the data is that it attributed
to variation the amount of people who are actively getting tested, changes in those who are
actively seeking medical attention, and observance of precautionary measure to slow spread.
On the other hand, vaccination rates in the County remain relatively low. State statistics
showed Washington County has only 15.52% of its population that have completed a
vaccine series or received all of the necessary doses. This still puts us significantly far from
getting to herd immunity, and there also remains a great deal of unknowns with regards to
the overall efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccines currently being distributed. This
remains especially significant as new variants of the virus are now only being discovered.
As a result, staff strongly recommends that we wait to start in person meetings until we are
at a point at which we are estimated to be at 50% herd immunity.
If the Council wishes to resume in person meetings there are a number of key changes that
would need to be introduced:
• Mask wearing must be adhered to.
• Impose social distancing measures of at least 6 feet of distance between individuals.
• Provide hand sanitizer and encourage attendees to wash their hands.
• Attendees should not share audio equipment or pens unless sanitized.
• Maintain limits on in-person occupants based occupancy requirements.
• Encourage those who are at high risk from complications of the virus, such as
individuals with pre-existing conditions or over the age of 50 to view or attend the
meeting virtually or by phone.
While the City remains appropriately equipped to hold transitional in-person meetings, it
remains recommended that the City wait for higher community vaccination rates.
Please let us know if you have any questions.