THE WYNWOOD YARD RE-OPENING FAQ

The Wynwood Yard has been open again as of Wednesday, August 10th. Thank you to our team members, guests and community for your patience and support during a challenging summer. We are eager to welcome all of Miami back home to The Yard. "We worked proactively to make the safest and healthiest choices for our guests and community back in August and now we are all ready to move on,” says CEO and founder Della Heiman. “Wynwood is a gem of a neighborhood with many small businesses that need your support right now. To launch a new season in Wynwood, The Wynwood Yard is celebrating with a calendar full of exciting community events.”

The Wynwood Yard CEO and founder Della Heiman spoke with WLRN-Miami Herald News about the team’s decision making process and the rationale for closing. You can listen here. On Sept. 23, 2016, the CDC released a report encapsulating Zika results for Wynwood. The CDC lifted its travel advisory for Wynwood as of September 19, 2016.

1. What’s new? (Friday, 8/12/16)

Today, The Wynwood Yard received some aggregate numbers from the Department of Health. Of the more than 65 employees tested last Thursday, the result were 3 positives.

Please note that all 3 of these people are part of the same group of more than 65 employees that were tested at the Department of Health last Thursday, August 4th.

This does not necessarily mean that there is a “new case of Zika in Miami”, as our number is likely already reflected in the DOH and CDC’s count for Miami.

To reiterate, this is not a new report of someone who is sick or a new suspicion of Zika illness. This is a result that has just come to the management’s attention, from the same pool that was tested last Thursday. We are simply reporting information as we receive it relative to that group testing last Thursday.

We are still awaiting a few more results.

Is everyone ok?

Yes. Thankfully all employees of The Wynwood Yard are doing well now. We have no new suspected cases of illness.

2. What’s new? (Thursday, 8/11/16)

Last night, The Wynwood Yard management received news of an additional positive Zika confirmation from the pool of voluntary employee tests that were arranged with the Department of Health last Thursday. This brings the total confirmed Zika cases among The Wynwood Yard employees to two.

Please note that this second person is part of the same group of more than 65 employees that was tested at the Department of Health last Thursday---the results were just not received all at once.

[Note as of Friday, 8/12/16: The Wynwood Yard has started receiving aggregate numbers from the DOH.] Because The Wynwood Yard has not been provided with an aggregate number of positive results among employees by the Florida Department of Health after last Thursday’s voluntary test, the management team is relying on voluntary reports by employees to the leadership team. The data we are sharing is just the internal count based on information that has been disclosed to management by our team members.

This does not necessarily mean that there is a “new case of Zika in Miami”, as our number is likely already reflected in the DOH and CDC’s count for Miami.

Is everyone ok?

Yes. Thankfully all employees of The Wynwood Yard are doing well now. We have no new suspected cases of illness.

3. Is The Wynwood Yard “ground zero” for Zika in Miami?

We have not received information from the CDC or DOH on this, but based on all of the information that we have obtained as an organization, the answer is no. The first cases of Zika infection in Miami have been linked to mid-June, more than a month before any of our team members reported experiencing symptoms.

4. Is The Wynwood Yard the 500-square-foot-area that is mentioned by the CDC?

We understand that some people are curious about this and so we wanted to address the question directly. We don’t know. We have not been informed by the CDC or the DOH that this is the case. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on what is known about how Zika may have started in Wynwood. However, we want to reiterate that The Wynwood Yard is a safe place to visit and we encourage you to read more about why we decided to re-open and the safety measures we have implemented (below).

5. Why did The Wynwood Yard management decide to close?

Because of its unique nature as a 100% outdoor venue and in response to management and employee concerns and suspicions of Zika infection, The Wynwood Yard closed Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016, in order to make sure it is providing the most prepared, comfortable and secure environment possible to its team and guests.

Upon notification of possible Zika infection in the area, The Wynwood Yard immediately closed and has been in contact with the Department of Health in order to offer voluntary Zika testing for all team members. The management of The Wynwood Yard has since learned that two team members were confirmed positive for Zika.

The Wynwood Yard team continues to work closely with the City of Miami and Department of Health in order to follow CDC recommendations on Zika and to assure the well-being of all who work and play at The Yard.

6. Is it safe for us to visit The Wynwood Yard?

Yes. The Wynwood Yard decided to close on Tuesday, August 3rd in order to assure the well-being of guests, team members and the community based on concerns about potential Zika symptoms amongst our employees that came to light on Monday August 1st just as the CDC issued its travel advisory about the neighborhood.

Since then, The Wynwood Yard arranged with the Department of Health to offer voluntary Zika testing for all its employees. The Department of Health has declared that the decision of The Wynwood Yard to re-open is a business decision, just as the decision to close was left up to our team. The Department of Health has not issued any instructions to The Wynwood Yard to close at this time.

In addition, once the CDC restrictions to Wynwood were announced, The Wynwood Yard took further steps to ensure the safety and comfort of guests and team members:

· We’ve stocked up on even more bug spray to have available for anyone on site who wishes to use them. As of Thursday, August 11th, we also have free mosquito repellent towelettes available.

· Mosquito Nix is installing a state-of-the-art mitigation system, using natural botanical insecticides, in order to supplement the mosquito control measures that were in place before we made the choice to close.

· We are continuing training with our team to ensure that everyone is knowledgeable about CDC guidelines, as well as our new mosquito mitigation measures.

The Wynwood Yard has taken every measure possible in order to ensure the greater well-being, health and comfort of our guests, community and team members. Most importantly, we are deeply committed to being forthright with our team members, guests and community. This is a 100% outdoor venue and we advise everyone to follow current CDC guidelines, including restrictions on women who are pregnant or plan on getting pregnant, as well as their partners.

7. What preventative measures is The Wynwood Yard taking against mosquitos and Zika?

Before The Wynwood Yard made the difficult choice to close on Tuesday August 2nd, team members were following CDC recommendations for drainage, wearing insect repellent and mosquito control on site. Since we closed, we’ve also added the following mitigation techniques:

· We’ve stocked up on even more bug spray to have available for anyone on site who wishes to use them. As of Thursday, August 11th, we also have free mosquito repellent towelettes available.

· We are continuing the training with our team to ensure that everyone is knowledgeable about CDC guidelines, as well as our new mosquito mitigation measures.

8. Is the new MosquitoNix misting system safe?

Yes. The new state-of-the-art mosquito MosquitoNix misting symptom is being installed at The Wynwood Yard today, Thurday August 11th. It has nozzles set up in unobtrusive places that release three or four mists a day of pyrethrum and other natural botanical insecticides, each a few seconds long. We are deeply grateful to MosquitoNix and David Lombardi of Lombardi Properties for generously assisting with sponsorship of the purchase and installation of this system. More information here: http://www.mosquitonix.com/mosquitonix

9. What now?

We’ll continue to update this page with more information as receive it. We’d like to thank our guests and the community for their support and patience.

The Wynwood Yard is welcoming back the public with a full calendar of events including two key welcome back celebrations:

della test kitchen Customer Appreciation Day | Saturday, August 13 |4 P.M. - 6 P.M. | Free

As a token of appreciation for the amazing community support it has received, della test kitchen invites you and your family to a fun and tasty afternoon in the sun. della test kitchen will celebrate its loyal customers with complimentary samples of the newest additions to the menu including the Dalé bowl, a bright and beautiful chilled mamey custard and spiced cacao frappé. In addition, all bowls will be 20% off that day. Fun activities for all include a garden tour and garden salad demo with Chef Julie Frans, drum circle and African movement session, hula hooping and Kids Princess sing-along with Christina. Register for the free event here.

The Raddest Craft Fair by The Prism Group| Saturday, August 27th | 6 P.M. – 9 P.M. | Free

Come back for round two of the Raddest Craft Fair at The Wynwood Yard. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig into every type of craft under the sun from watercolor, to calligraphy, macramé and more. Full lineup of workshops to be announced soon! You’ll find inspiration in charming live sets by local songwriters, local culinary pop-ups along with scrumptious offerings by The Yard’s resident food concepts, not to mention the otherworldly craft cocktails from Mortar & Pistil. In addition, there will be some special treats to welcome Miami back home to The Yard! To see an ongoing list of workshops and to register, click here.