At the request of Washington State University to encourage protection of the general public and office staff from infection of Coronavirus, the WSU Extension office in Lewis County will be closed to the public until further notice.  This does not mean closed for business.  Faculty and staff will continue to meet clientele needs during the office closure and are available via phone or email.

To protect clientele and office staff, the office closure will continue until confirmed by Public Health that the health emergency is determined to be over.  Additional measures employed during the health crisis include:

• All face to face meetings will be cancelled until further notice.  Meetings using remote communication options are still allowed and encouraged.
• Clientele will have the option of contacting the office administrative assistant to schedule a visit with staff or faculty.  Meetings using remote communication is encouraged as a first option.
• Faculty will be responsive during business hours to e-mail and phone calls with-in 48 hours of being contacted.
• All educational meeting will be postponed until further notice.  Future meeting dates will be set after the emergency is deemed over by Public Health.
• Questions to the WSU Master Gardeners and WSU Master compost Recyclers will be answered during business hours.  Clientele will be encouraged to send digital pictures of their problem.
• Outside the county office, meetings of 10 or fewer people may still be held, ONLY if it is possible to maintain the CDC-recommended protocol:

• • Encourage people who are sick or at risk to stay home and participate at a distance.
  • Discourage physical contact and provide social distancing (6 Feet).
  • Encourage hand-washing (30 seconds with soap & water) and provide hand sanitizer (60%+ Alcohol) for participants.
  • Encourage participants not to touch their faces.
  • Encourage coughing/sneezing into sleeves or tissues (& throw away).
  • Sanitize frequently-touched surfaces before and after meetings and daily at a minimum

Any questions concerning this plan should be directed to the WSU Extension office director (patrick.shults@wsu.edu).