| | | All of us at FFGW want to personally update you on a topic that is on everyone’s mind - the coronavirus (COVID–19). We want to assure you that we are monitoring the situation closely to ensure the well-being of our volunteers, prospective adopters, and the cats in our care. We know this is an evolving situation and want to share with you the various precautionary measures we are taking to continue to focus on keeping everyone safe and healthy.
In order to aid PetSmart in sanitizing their stores, we have temporarily removed all cats from the Leesburg PetSmart, and placed them in foster homes, and we will be suspending adoption events both in the store and at fosters’ homes until April 1, at which time we will reassess whether to resume. In addition, once operations resume we will encourage volunteers to participate only at their comfort level, and of course, to remain home if there is any indication that they are sick. We are providing to our volunteers, in a special message below, resources from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Fairfax County Health Department so that they have the latest information.
There is currently no evidence that cats can contract or spread COVID-19. As always, any time a cat exhibits symptoms of illness, we work with our partner vets to address the issue. Protecting the health of our volunteers, adopters and cats is our foremost priority.
Thank you for your support as we navigate this time.
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| | To Our Valued Volunteers and Fosters
Thank you for the work you do every day to support our mission of rescue. The outbreak of the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is certainly impacting our mission, and the situation has been evolving rapidly. FFGW is closely monitoring the latest developments through trusted public information sources and will communicate with you via email and through our social media channels.
One important thing to know, which might provide some calm in the present storm, is that there is no evidence cats can contract COVID-19.
We have been working with PetSmart as they sanitize their stores to also ensure that the adoption center is thoroughly cleaned. To that end, all cats are currently in foster homes and will remain out of the store for the next few weeks – we will let you know when they return.
We have suspended our weekly adoption events at PetSmart and in-home meetings at foster homes at least until April 1, at which time we will reassess whether it is safe to resume adoptions.
Our heartfelt thanks go to all our fosters and volunteers for all that you do - you are our most valuable resource. We appreciate our fosters hanging onto their foster kitties until we are able to resume adoptions. If you don’t feel that you are able to keep your fosters during this time, please let us know and we will try to work out moving your foster cat elsewhere.
Once adoptions are resumed, if you feel sick or are exhibiting any signs of illness as described by the Fairfax County Health Department, please do not volunteer. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that anyone with symptoms of an acute respiratory illness stay home from work or avoid volunteer activities until they are symptom-free, without the aid of symptom-altering medicines, for 24 hours.
We appreciate your support as we work to protecting the health of our volunteers, animals, and continuing our mission of rescue.
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