NASA Plans for Gradual Reopening of its Centers Written 7 May 2020

Space News reports that NASA “is finalizing a plan to gradually reopen its field centers once the peak of the coronavirus pandemic passes, but agency leadership said that would be a slow process that would vary based on the conditions at each center.” During an “online town hall meeting broadcast on NASA TV May 6, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and other officials discussed their efforts to finalize guidelines that would allow NASA centers to gradually resume normal operations in the months to come, but with many employees continuing to telework for the foreseeable future.” NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk “estimated that 90% of agency employees were working remotely,” and Bridenstine said, “If you can do all of your work via telework, we would expect you to do all of your work via telework. ... The returning to work implementation is going to be based on work that absolutely has to be done on site.” NASA “published this week a ‘Framework for Return to On-Site Work,’ a diagram that describes how NASA will gradually move back to normal operations. For example, a move from Stage 4, where 12 NASA facilities are at, to Stage 3 requires a downward trajectory of both COVID-19 cases and other ‘influenza-like illnesses’ over a 14-day period.”
Full Story (Space News)