At Girl Scouts, there is nothing we take more seriously than the
safety and well-being of our girls, volunteers, and council staff. We
have been continuing to monitor communications from the governors’
offices, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of
Health, among others.
UPDATE 5/26/2021: Since the release of our last
mask-wearing guidance on Monday, May 24, 2021, we have received
questions asking for clarification on the use of masks indoors versus
outdoors. Please see the below amended guidance.
Indoors:
- When meeting with girls under 12: Because girls under 12 are
not yet eligible for vaccination, girls and adults are required to
wear masks and practice social distancing as mandated by the CDC and
local government guidelines, regardless of adult vaccination status,
while meeting indoors.
- When meeting with girls 12 and
older: Fully vaccinated adults and girls 12 and older are no longer
required to wear masks indoors, so long as everyone—girls
included—are fully vaccinated.
- Please be aware that some
businesses and meeting/activity locations may still require masks to
be worn inside, regardless of vaccination status. We ask that you
follow their rules, respectfully.
Outdoors:
- While your state may advise you to continue to wear masks
outdoors, they may not be required. With that advisement in
consideration, we do not require masks for outdoor
gatherings/meetings but still recommend non-vaccinated persons (of
any age) to wear them.
UPDATE 5/24/2021: As COVID-19 vaccines continue to be
administered and more and more people are getting inoculated,
restrictions are beginning to lift surrounding COVID-19 safety
practices across the country. We ask that you continue to follow
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and your state and local
government’s guidelines and restrictions. The following rules are
immediately valid for Girl Scouts in our council in Rhode Island and
Connecticut and valid in Massachusetts beginning May 29:
- If girls are under 12 years old, everyone—girls included—are
required to wear masks and practice social distancing as mandated by
the CDC and local government guidelines, regardless of adult
vaccination status.
- Fully vaccinated adults are no longer
required to wear masks with girls 12 and older, so long as
everyone—girls included—are fully vaccinated.
The CDC and local authorities have defined a person as “fully
vaccinated” 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series (such
as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines) or 2 weeks after a single-dose
vaccine (such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine). Please see
our Vaccination FAQs for Volunteers and Parents for
more information.
As stated previously, so long as you are following all required
protocols as they are outlined by your respective state and local
governments, and CDC guidelines, we hope you enjoy continuing to meet
in person! With mask mandates lifting, please keep in mind that your
meeting or activity location may have additional rules that must be followed.
As a reminder, if you are meeting in a home, you must complete a
permission request for at-home meetings in the forms for at-home meetings. Please note that a
COVID-19 screening questionnaire still needs to
be completed by anyone attending in-person meetings.
Still meeting virtually? No problem! If you are a troop leader, your
Service Unit Manager still has access to your community’s Zoom
license, so you may continue meeting virtually. To access the service
unit Zoom account and set up your meetings, please reach out to them
directly to coordinate your next meeting.
We will continue to update this page with the most current policies
and procedures pertaining to this ever-evolving pandemic.
Thank you for your continued support and flexibility, and happy spring!
UPDATE 4/22/2021: As COVID-19 vaccines become more widely
available, we wanted to provide you with GSSNE and GSUSA guidance
about vaccinations. Please see our Vaccination FAQs for Volunteers and
Parents for more information.
UPDATE 1/7/2021: We hope you had a restful and safe
holiday break! We know so many of you are anxiously awaiting the
ability to meet in person again and as you know, we’ve been monitoring
and will continue to monitor the situation regularly. We understand
that it has been a long haul with virtual meetings being the only
method for “gathering” for so long. With that being said, after
contacting the Rhode Island governor’s office and reviewing current
Massachusetts and Connecticut guidelines, you may meet in person, so
long as you are practicing appropriate social distancing and other
required protocols as they are outlined by your respective state and
local governments, and CDC guidelines. Naturally, you’ll need to be
masked at all times and utilize hand sanitizers, wash hands frequently
and whenever necessary.
If you are going to have in-person meetings/troop activities, we ask
that you continue to follow the above guidelines. Protocols outlined
in the forms for at-home meetings can be found below. Also, click here for the form where you can complete
your permission request for at-home meetings. Please note that a
COVID-19 screening questionnaire needs to be completed by anyone
attending in-person meetings. That form can be found here.
Please continue to reference this page for the most current policies
and procedures pertaining to this ever-evolving pandemic.
Also, please note that if you are a troop leader, your Service Unit
Manager has access to your community’s Zoom license, so you may
continue meeting virtually. To access the Service Unit Zoom account
and set up your meetings, please reach out to them directly to
coordinate your next meeting!
Thank you for your continued support and flexibility, as we all
continue to navigate this ever-changing world we’re living in together!
