We all need to stay aware of the developing situation with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), discharge any restimulations we have, and thoughtfully take steps to protect ourselves and our Communities. Here are the first two communications put out to the RC Community to move in this direction.


February 28, 2020


Dear RCers,


As the novel coronavirus continues to spread into more countries, it is important that we inform ourselves about it, think about each of our situations relative to it, have sessions on whatever the situation restimulates, and prepare ourselves to handle things, however they develop. 


Governments have not taken the necessary steps quickly enough to keep the virus from spreading. It is important to contain and isolate it so that it does not have the chance to establish itself the way influenza has.


Our current situation has many unknowns and is changing rapidly.


Under these conditions, we in RC need to recognize that our gathering together people from many parts of the world can create a situation in which the virus can spread in that group and then in the individuals’ widespread home communities. This needs to be thought about by workshop leaders and organizers.


Each workshop needs to be thought about: where the participants are from, where have they traveled recently, what presence the virus has in those places, and so on. Local workshops that are far from where the virus has appeared still seem reasonable to continue holding.


Any workshop that brings together people—participants and leader—from far distances needs to be thought about carefully, and postponement or cancellation needs to be considered.


We have already canceled several RC events because of the virus, in both Europe and East Asia.


The situation will continue to develop, and we will gain clearer information in the next few weeks. Please discharge on and think about the situation so that we can handle it most effectively.


With love and appreciation,


Tim Jackins

March 4, 2020


Dear RCers,


I am working to figure out the best way we can respond to the international spread of the novel coronavirus. We are hampered by a great lack of information about this virus and its transmission, by our restimulations about the situation, and by the confusions of capitalism and its influence on our governments and their policies. 


The virus is transmitted very easily, and no one has immunity to it. Under these conditions, I want the RC Communities to take decisive steps to limit our transmission of it. 


Over the past weeks, as we began to get an understanding of the situation, I canceled several workshops and other RC activities in several parts of the world. Now we will do more. 


Here are the steps we will take in the next two weeks. We will also keep thinking and learning about the developing situation and modify these steps and take others.


• Staff at RCCR [Re-evaluation Counseling Community Resources] will not travel to other RC Communities to lead RC activities or attend workshops. (Seattle is currently a center of the virus in the United States.)
• Any workshop occurring in the next month that involves any international travel for the leader or any participant should be canceled. If the leader is from within the country and there are no international participants, the workshop can be held at the discretion of the leader and the organizer if it draws only from geographic areas where there is no “community transmission.”

(When someone develops novel coronavirus disease [COVID-19] who has not been exposed to anyone known to be infected with the virus, and who has not traveled to countries where the virus is circulating, it is said that “community transmission” is occurring. “Community transmission” is an important marker of the spread of the disease and is commonly referred to in the media and by public health officials.)


• Similarly, if an RC activity in the next month draws people from significant distances within one country, including from locations where there is “community transmission” of the virus, that activity should be canceled or the people from locations with “community transmission” should not attend.
• In locations where there has been no “community transmission,” the workshop, class, gather-in, and so on, may be held at the discretion of the leaders of the local RC Community.
• In locations where there has been “community transmission,” all RC gatherings should be canceled.
• People from Regions in which there is “community transmission” should not go to workshops outside their Region during this period.

In place of these RC gatherings, I encourage people to use whatever electronic communications are possible for doing the work that would have been done at the gatherings. This includes using Zoom, Signal, FaceTime, Telegram, and other similar means for classes, support groups, talks that would have happened at a workshop, and so on. 


Individual face-to-face sessions need to be carefully thought about. Though many of us will never be infected with the virus, each of us needs to thoughtfully limit the possibility of acquiring or transmitting it in a session. Please read and follow as much as possible the suggestions that have been made by thoughtful people in the medical profession. I will list some of these at the end of this letter.


The situation with this virus is a real and immediate challenge for us in the RC Community. I think that we can handle it, and support each other in our efforts. 


I understand that the above measures have large economic consequences for many people. But I think that’s unavoidable since these measures appear to be necessary for the safety of individuals, our Communities, and all of the people around us. There may be ways to lessen the economic difficulties by negotiating with workshop sites, petitioning airlines, and so on. To the extent there are unrecoverable costs that would be a hardship to absorb, please contact Mike Markovits and the Re-evaluation Foundation.


Please reach for connection with each other. As with all challenges, one goal with this challenge is to emerge from it clearer and in better shape than when we first faced it. Let’s do that. 


With love and appreciation,


Tim Jackins

 Links to the websites for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): 


<www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public>


<www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/home/index.html>