Summary:

  • Group activities will remain canceled through January.
  • In-person lunch will continue at reduced capacity.
  • We will re-assess the situation in February before resuming our regularly scheduled programming.

Well folks, we promised we would re-visit the situation mid-January, and here we are already! Unfortunately, we cannot resume group activities yet. There has been a sharp increase in Covid cases in our area. Nine out of every ten local ICU beds are currently occupied. Dartmouth Hitchcock is asking everyone in the community to do what we can to slow down the spread of the virus.

Below we can see that the post-holiday surge is currently under way in our area. Towards the end of December, Delta cases started to decline, but another spike is underway as Omicron has arrived in the Upper Valley:

Given what’s going on, it seems sensible to hold off on social and group activities until this wave passes. Lunch is still being offered at the Center, with reduced capacity to lower risk of transmission. So there is at least some opportunity to see each other. Take out meals are also available for anyone who is unable to be seated for lunch. We’re going to keep offering virtual and hybrid classes and activities. Let us know if you want to brush up on your computer skills to access these kinds of programs!

All other services, including Meals on Wheels, equipment loans, social services, and transportation, remain available as usual.