OUR RESPONSE TO COVID-19
Ever since the nation began to implement social distancing rules in response to COVID-19, our team has been closely monitering the situation. Currently, as North Carolina is in the reopening process from a state-wide Phase 2, our staff have planned for and implemented practices to ensure to the best of our ability that we are able to wisely have a safe Cornerstone Program. Unless we see the unlikely scenario in July where North Carolina all of a sudden goes back into a complete shelter at home mode, Cornerstone will be taking place on July 7th-31st. We are also confident Cornerstone will be taking place because of some of the measures below. Here are a number of policies we are implementing in light of COVID-19
We have access to 100 COVID-19 Antibody tests. We will be having all Cornerstone participants (students, speakers, staff) be tested before, in the beginning and after Cornerstone. All students will be tested by their local providers (or will be sent tests) before they come to Durham, NC for Cornerstone. Right before the first event of the program, they will be tested again by us. Then at the end of the program, we will administer the test one more time. Furthermore, in Durham, NC, the local Walgreens provides free COVID-19 PCP tests which don’t require any symptoms or medical referral. Our students will be encouraged to utilize those resources. Throughout the program.
All participants will be asked to maintain social distancing rules the 2 weeks leading up to the program.
All participants will need to maintain social distancing rules during the program when interacting with any non-Cornerstone students (public venues, grocery stores, etc). For example, they will be required to wear masks, stay 6 feet or more away from others, etc.
The classroom space we will be using at King’s Park will be exclusively used by Cornerstone throughout the program. We will be sanitizing the space at the end of every day and at the end of the week.
We will be administering daily temperature checks using no-contact infrared thermometers.
For our games and lunch breaks and hangouts we will attempt to utilize outdoor spaces (King’s Park has a massive parking lot) as much as possible.
In the classroom setting, we have been and will continue to maintain the practice of spreading out the students so that there will be 2 students per 8 foot long rectangular table.
Typically during Cornerstone, we spend two days doing what we call “cold call” (talking to strangers) evangelism on college campuses. Because all campuses only have online summer classes and in order to minimize exposing the class to the “outside” world, we will not be doing any evangelism that requires physically interacting with non-Cornerstone participants.
Our goal throughout the program is to do everything we can to ensure that the only people you will be exposed to during Cornerstone Program will be those who have been tested and tested negative for coronavirus.
Other than students who are from the Durham area and will be living with their family, all other Cornerstone students will only be living in spaces committed exclusively to Cornerstone students. They will be placed in living situations with other Cornerstone students where they will not be interacting or exposed to non-Cornerstone students. These students will be placed with other students in whole apartments or town houses. As a result, the only ones those Cornerstone students will be living with will be other Cornerstone students who have been tested already.
In terms of living situations in those apartments or town houses, there will be no more than 2 students per room.
Throughout the program, we will provide masks and hand sanitizer for all students who need them.
The Cornerstone, King’s Park staff and I are actively seeking and discerning additional wise practices and policies for Cornerstone this summer.
David Liauw
Cornerstone Director
(Updated June 20, 2020)