“Necessity is the mother of invention.” Plato
The coronavirus is wreaking havoc globally.
Unfortunately, many people continue to see the seriousness of this disease as a myth. They argue that COVID-19 is no different than the flu and they continue to show blatant disregard for safety precautions. While the entire world grapples with this pandemic, COVID-19 has rendered its ugly head in an especially cruel manner in the United States. At the early onset, somehow, we allowed safety and the concept of certain protective measures like masks to become politicized. The results have been devasting. The New York Times reported that the U.S., “recorded more than 1.9 million new infections in July, nearly 42 percent of the more than 4.5 million cases reported nationwide since the pandemic began and more than double the number documented in any other month.”
These numbers are staggering. It is even more depressing when you consider we have had more than 150,000 deaths. COVID-19 knows no political or geographic bounds. Conservative, progressive, rich, or poor are all at potential risk.
And this is just the physical expense. The economic toll has been just as alarming. With a GDP contraction of almost 33% for the months of April through June, America just experienced its worst quarter ever.
It is the ultimate catch 22 though. . .
People need to work to stimulate the economy, but it is a major challenge for people to work because opening up is contributing to the significant rise is COVID-19 cases. The debate on whether to reopen or stay shut is being waged through the country and across industries. Schools, restaurants, retail . . .
Luckily, there are some amazing pioneers out there getting it right. They recognize the need to allow folks to work so that they are able to take care of themselves and families, while at the same time understanding the severity of the pandemic and putting the “necessary” safety measures in place to mitigate it.
Today we celebrate Tyler Perry whose ingenious plan was nothing short of amazing. While many other companies and folks seem to be throwing caution to the wind, Mr. Perry has taken the exact opposite approach.
To be able to successfully finish some of his television production they are working on during the pandemic, Perry came up with the “Camp Quarantine” concept. The plan to keep all 360 of the production and crew members safe on set was outlined in a 30-page safety document. He built new buildings to house employees in what he called “Camp Quarantine.”
He worked closely with some of the nations most renowned doctors to develop his plan. First, he flew his team to the Atlanta-based studio on private flights. The crew working on the project were required to live on site for each of the “two-week” productions. He provided mandatory virus testing for everyone on set every three days. Everybody had to isolate and stay in their rooms until the test results came back.
Once their negative results were confirmed they could participate. He even provided food trucks, movie nights and an open bar to keep up morale. The results speak for themselves; they have been able to wrap up production early on a couple of projects all while his entire team has tested negative for COVID-19.
With his actions to get his folks working but go the extra mile to keep them all safe, Mr. Perry embodies every element of our HERO framework. It is good to know that even in the chaos there are folks that are taking care of business. This indeed is a reflection of excellence.
DeShawn Reed 