As the situation regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to affect our local and international Jewish community, we’d like to share some information regarding our efforts to keep our Jewish community healthy and safe.
The Jewish Federation is committed to the health and well-being of our community and we remain focused on preventing illness at our programs and events, on our missions and trips and in the buildings we operate.
To that end, our senior leaders and security professionals have taken a number of actions:
- Postponing all in-person group programming for the next three weeks, including Super Sunday, which will be rescheduled at a later time. All participants will be notified to confirm that their program or event is being cancelled or postponed.
- Closely monitoring all pertinent health and safety-related information to ensure that we are following expert guidance and best practices. This includes reviewing the latest information from the Center for Disease Control (COVID-19 Situation Summary linked here) and the World Health Organization (Coronavirus FAQ – https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses).
- Consulting with the Overseas Security Advisory Council and the Jewish Federations of North America on every aspect of our missions, including potential threats posed by this virus.
- Thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing our building on a daily basis and installing hand sanitizers at the elevator on each floor.
- Making every committee or planning meeting accessible through phone, Skype or Zoom.
- Allowing all employees who have the capacity to work remotely from home do so if need be, especially if there are any health concerns
- Canceling / postponing all mission travel experiences until June 1, at the earliest.
With these steps in place, the Jewish Federation remains open for business. Until further notice, however, if you are not feeling well and exhibit symptoms of illness, please refrain from visiting the building or any of Federation’s agencies.
While we look forward to the resolution of this health issue, we will remain diligent in our efforts to protect our constituents. To that end, we ask for your patience regarding unforeseen changes in schedules of our upcoming programs.
We also want to remind everyone to continue to practice hand and respiratory hygiene—wash hands, cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing and observe the advisories provided by the Center for Disease Control and other public health agencies.
We wish for the best for all those affected and hope that everyone in our community remains healthy during this difficult time.
Thank you all,
Beverly B. Liss
President
Jewish Federation of Detroit
Alan Jay Kaufman
President
United Jewish Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit