On Monday, July 20th, 2020 the offices of the NEW Radio, Inc. and the Door County Daily News found out that one of our own had tested positive for COVID-19. While this person’s name will not be released we want to make sure that everyone knows we have been taking every precaution inside the offices to maintain a safe and clean work environment. Social distancing is practiced and masks are required in all common and public areas. Since we received notice of our first positive test we have cleaned and disinfected the entire office. Those who were notified by health officials about contact are currently being quarantined or working from home. As an extra precaution, the entire staff has been tested and is awaiting the results. No one on staff was or is displaying any symptoms nor was the person who tested positive.
As the owner, I have spoken to both Door and Kewaunee County Health Departments and explained what protocols we have been and currently are following and they have assured me that we are taking the necessary steps to keep people as safe as possible while at work. Even though we have been disinfecting all areas, washing hands, using hand sanitizer, using spray disinfectant, and wearing masks this proved to not be enough. I also spoke to them about what else can be done to protect the staff as it’s my responsibility to do so. We will be furthering our efforts by checking temperatures and doing a health assessment every time an employee comes to work beyond asking if they are experiencing symptoms. We will be limiting the number of outside contacts that our team has both in news and in sales by transitioning to more virtual forms of meetings and interviews.
At this time, we will continue to bring you all the latest news from Door and Kewaunee Counties. We will continue to bring you the music that you love on our five radio stations. I hope that you take the time to support our local advertisers you hear on our stations and see on our websites. They make what we do possible. Continue to shop the Big Deals as we are offering free mailing of Big Deals certificates while we thoroughly clean the offices. If you would like a certificate right away we are doing curbside pick-up and digital options as well. We want to ensure the safety of the staff and our listeners to the best of our abilities.
We will also be devoting more air time to COVID-19 education and how to be safer as a society. I honestly felt that I was doing everything that I could do to protect my staff and I was unable to do so. I don’t believe that I am alone in feeling like this as a business owner. I know that many business owners want to know how to keep their staff and guests safe while keeping their business running successfully. These will include pieces from local and national health experts and marketing experts that will help guide everyone through this so we can all come out more resilient and better equipped to handle matters in the future.
We are viewing this as a learning experience and something in which we will grow and cultivate new ways of conducting business. This team at NEW Radio and the Door County Daily News is one of the best and strongest that I have ever had the privilege of working with and I will do what I can to lead them forward.
