Dear Residents, Families and Employees: 

The transmission rate in Philadelphia remains high with a positivity rate of 8.39%, up significant from last week’s 6.67%.  The City of Philadelphia announced a vaccine mandate for indoor food establishments. This is another indicator that we must keep all our precautions in place and continue strict adherence to our established protocols.  The Omicron variant is in almost every state across the U.S. CDC expects that anyone with an Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms”. As a reminder, everyone is expected to wear a face mask that covers your nose and mouth while in the community. We also ask that Residents keep their face mask on during visits with family, and when an Employee must enter the room/apartment.

The joy of the holidays can be felt and seen here at Stapeley as our Residents and Employees exchange greetings and cheer.  Thanks to everyone’s cooperation with infection control practices, high vaccine rates, and perhaps just a little bit of Christmas blessings, we continue to be COVID free.  Please be sure to keep your masks and your spirits up as you spend time here with your loved ones during this joyful season.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may the new year bring new joy and happiness.

I can be contacted at kbeiler@wel.org or 215-991-7101.  Thank you and stay safe.

With gratitude,

Ken Beiler

Executive Director, Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley

Important Ways to Slow the Spread of COVID-19

• Get a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth to help protect yourself and others.
• Stay 6 feet apart from others who don’t live with you.
• Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.
• Test to prevent spread to others.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren’t available.

Signs and symptoms of a COVID infection:

Most Common Symptoms	Less Common	Serious Symptoms – should seek immediate medical treatment
Fever or Chills	Aches & Pains	Difficulty Breathing
Dry Cough	Night sweats	Shortness of Breath
Tiredness/Fatigue	Sore Throat	Chest Pain or pressure
Congestion and/or Runny Nose	Diarrhea	Loss of speech or movement
	Headache
	Loss of Taste or smell
	Nausea or vomiting
	A rash on skin, discoloration of fingers and toes

As a reminder, here are the visiting requirements for our community:

• Visitors who have a positive COVID-19 test, symptoms of COVID-19 or currently meet the criteria for quarantine (exposed, potentially positive) should not enter the community. 
• Hand hygiene, face mask covering the mouth and nose, six feet distance between people is required.
• All visitors are strongly encouraged to have a COVID-19 vaccination and booster
• Non-vaccinated visitors are encouraged to conduct visits outdoors (weather permitting).
• Room visits are permitted, if both roommates are vaccinated and neither resident is immunocompromised (regardless of vaccination).