Posted on Monday, June 29, 2020
Visitors by Appointment
Palm Beach County Extension is open to visitors and welcomes your return to our offices as you conduct your extension business. Our current Phase 1 guideline limits us to a single visitor within any one of our multiple office spaces. For this reason, we are accepting visitors by appointment only. The person you are visiting (extension agent, staff, etc) will confirm your appointment, and will make the appropriate preparations for your visit.
Our offices are staffed Monday through Friday and we request that you use email and the telephone when possible for all matters that do not require an in-person visit.
Important: All visitors must wear a facemask (or similar approved face covering) in order to enter a Palm Beach County building, including our Extension offices. Visitors must wear their facemask throughout the duration of your visit. All staff will be adhering to this same safety policy. Should you misplace your mask, we can give you one. Exceptions to our facemask requirement (children under the age of 2 years, underlying medical condition) will be consistent with Palm Beach County policies.
Use of Extension Facilities
Use of indoor facilities (meeting halls, conference rooms) by the general public for in-person group meetings, group workshops, and group activities are not permitted at this time. In an abundance of caution, and as a preventative measure benefitting public health, all special events and activities involving group gatherings (meetings, workshops, lectures, trainings) will not occur until further notice. Where feasible, educational programs will still take place using distance technologies like Zoom or internet-based webinars (accessed from your computer or other social media device). All on-line opportunities will be posted on this website.
Safety Commitment
Staffing densities have been reduced through modified flex work schedules. Heightened sanitization protocols have been implemented to protect employees and visitors, including increased frequency of sanitization efforts for high-touch areas, hand sanitizer stations in every building, required use of masks and facial coverings, and postings of relevant COVID-related safety signage.
We urge everyone to continue practicing "physical distancing", which includes avoiding group gatherings, avoiding close face-to-face interactions with other people, and maintaining distance (a minimum of 6 feet or 2 meters) from others. Continue to use good hygiene practices as recommended by the CDC and Health Department. Wear your facemask when interacting with people, or when you are near other people. Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth and face. Avoid close contact with people who are sick or exhibit symptoms of illness. Please be considerate of the health of others by staying home when you are sick.
Palm Beach County Extension will continue to monitor the status of COVID-19 in our area and we will communicate any changes (on this website) regarding the status of extension educational programming, availability of indoor facilities for meetings/gatherings, and specifics related to visiting the Mounts Botanical Garden.
Please visit our website at http://discover.pbcgov.org/coextension/Pages/default.aspx for updates on the status of your Palm Beach County Extension Department. For specific information regarding the Mounts Botanical Garden, please visit https://www.mounts.org/.
For local Palm Beach County news that addresses COVID-19 issues:
http://discover.pbcgov.org/coronavirus/Pages/default.aspx
For a wide variety of COVID-19 related articles and helpful FAQs, visit this University of Florida (UF/IFAS) website:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_covid19
Information from the University of Florida Health Department:
https://coronavirus.ufhealth.org/frequently-asked-questions/covid-19-facts/
For the latest Florida-specific information, including a COVID-19 resource toolkit, visit the Florida Department of Health:
http://www.floridahealth.gov/
For the latest federal updates as well as information about how to prevent COVID-19, visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
For more specific COVID-19 topics of interest:
Center for Disease Control (CDC) Resources
World Health Organization (WHO) Resources
Florida Department of Health (DOH) Resources