
CDC recommends sweeping changes to American offices - bookofjoe
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/office-buildings.html
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gav
The advantage of being colocated in an office is collaboration--being able to
work together in close proximity--and community--adhoc gatherings in communal
areas. Take out these things to make the workplace safer and I can't see many
advantages of being in the office at all.

I know that there's a lot of people who can't work effectively at home for
many reasons, especially city dwellers with tiny apartments, but I wonder if
there's a market for small private offices for them. A open office where you
sit in a cubicle surrounded by perspex walls seems the worst of all worlds.

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ardy42
> Modify or adjust seats, furniture, and workstations to maintain social
> distancing of 6 feet between employees.

> Install transparent shields or other physical barriers where possible to
> separate employees and visitors where social distancing is not an option.

> Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and
> bulk snacks, with alternatives such as pre-packaged, single-serving items.

Hopefully this will help inject some sanity into open offices designs, or
better yet, kill the idea entirely.

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triyambakam
I hate this "new normal". Whatever evidence you see for or against these
policies, they are incredibly depressing to me. I don't want to spend the rest
of my life 6 feet away from everyone afraid that they might infect me.

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warent
I think you're interpreting the "new normal" too literally. My understanding
of it is that this is just until we get to a place where people can contract
the virus without overwhelming hospital capacity. i.e. we have established
better treatment options, perhaps achieved some level of herd immunity or
immunization, and improved hospital triage plans.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
More than that - there's a population at-risk of death. At 3-5X the ordinary
disease rate. They'll be isolated until a vaccine becomes available - months
or years.

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notadog
Per HN Guidelines, the title should be changed to "COVID-19 Employer
Information for Office Buildings". There was no reason for the submitter to
editorialize the original title.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

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ping_pong
Elevators, stairwells and bathrooms are going to be problematic in a work
environment. And will fire drills be cancelled until COVID-19 has been
defeated?

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33degrees
Elevators are a huge problem: a friend of mine told me her employer calculated
it would take 24 hours for all employees to arrive at their desks if they
follow social distancing rules.

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Simulacra
OUT OF THE CUBICLES AND...gosh almost anything else. Offices, even if it's
just the size of a cubicle, would be really appreciated.

~~~
ardy42
> OUT OF THE CUBICLES AND...gosh almost anything else.

Even cubicles would be an improvement on many "modern" office designs.

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burlesona
The actual title is “Employer Information for Office Buildings.”

It’s not as catchy as “CDC recommends sweeping changes...” but per HN rules
shouldn’t the original title be used?

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r00fus
@dang, can we get this altered?

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bookofjoe
>C.D.C. Recommends Sweeping Changes to American Offices

[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-
of...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html)

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shostack
I'm glad to see them talk about HVAC systems and air filtration. Not enough
conversations around reopening discuss this despite studies showing that HVAC
systems can cause outbreaks and render all other efforts moot.

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walshemj
Doesn't mention removing hot air dryers that blow droplets all over the place
and replacing them with hand towels and changing taps to no touch ones.

~~~
Simulacra
Also the Dyson air blades: [https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/dyson-
dryers-hurl-60...](https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/dyson-dryers-
hurl-60x-more-viruses-most-at-kid-face-height-than-other-dryers/)

Note: Published in 2016

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newacct583
Not really understanding the editorializing in the headline here. The CDC
isn't characterizing these recommendations as "sweeping changes", certainly.
And at a first read they all seem quite sensible to me, and in line with
general scientific consensus.

Some of them might be expensive, sure. It's a global pandemic, is it the
government's job to make it magically free, somehow?

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triyambakam
I hate the meme of a "scientific consensus" especially with this current
topic. It really goes against the core of what science is. There is no
"consensus" at this time about coronavirus, even if there are certain large
groups that agree - that's not consensus. Perpetuating this idea that there is
"scientific consensus" means that implicitly there are certain scientists that
should be excluded because of their work or perspective in order to create
this consensus (exclude those who disagree so that all agree).

Science, in the strict and true sense, denotes knowledge. Because knowledge is
boundless, a scientist is an eternal revisionist; his overarching goal is to
falsify his existing understanding, either by making new, contradictory
observations, or by proposing better theories.

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newacct583
I'm sorry, can you be specific? What recommendations in this CDC document
reflect science on which you feel there is significant uncertainty or
disagreement?

This is almost all just straightforward isolation requirements. Social
isolation as a disease prevention strategy has been practiced and studied for
literally millenia. Yes, it's very much "scientific consensus".

Sure, there are questions unanswered, and there always will be. I don't see
how that's relevant to "keep your workers from getting too close and keep your
air from circulating unfiltered among them".

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triyambakam
Sorry for the confusion, I'm referring to the parent poster's mention of
"scientific consensus", not directly related to the CDC guidelines. There is a
strong meme of talking about "what the science says" as if there is only one
unified Science (TM) and people (scientists, even) who have differing views
are either not real scientists or crazy

