Lab Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 is spreading in the United States and we have a case in Boone County. See the excellent resource at Next Strain for an analysis of the situation. The following are some guidelines for how the lab is currently operating during this epidemic.

• Under no circumstances should you come to work (or go anywhere) if you are sick. You should also not have any contact with other lab members. This is always the case but is especially important as we try to slow the spread of COVID-19.

• Anyone who is able to work remotely must do so. This minimizes the risk both to those of us working remotely and to those of us that must come to the lab to do essential work (keeping the flies alive). We will not have more than one person in the lab at a time. Our schedule is on the google sheet pinned in our Lab Slack. No one is allowed to be in the lab if it is not on the schedule.

• If you do need to come to lab to perform essential work, wash your hands before and after doing any lab work. Disinfect any shared surfaces you have used.

• If you are responsible for any essential lab work and you become ill, become aware of exposure, or are concerned about an increased risk to yourself or someone you have regular contact with, do not come to the lab and please communicate with the lab so we can cover your lab work (back up people are on our schedule). I know we are all committed to helping each other through this. Please ask for help before trying to take care of labwork yourself if any of these things are true for you.

• Working remotely will be challenging for some of us, especially those of us with kids at home. Let's keep checking in with each other via Slack and Zoom and try to set realistic goals for what we can accomplish on our research during this time.

• I hope we all feel we can talk openly about this and how it might impact us or our work. Let's support each other, remain flexible in our plans, and to be ready for changes to the situation. Remember, prepare, don’t panic.