COVID-19 Important Updates

 All event participants must have a completed COVID Pre-Screen form before the event takes place.

For a printable version of In Person Meeting Guidelines updated for July, click HERE.

The GSHG COVID-19 guidelines have been updated for July 2021. Complete guidelines can be found following the summary points. A summary of the updates is as follows:

• Mask Guidance: GSHG members should continue to follow CDC masking guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. The eased mask wearing recently announced by the CDC (which suggests resuming all activities as they were prior to COVID-19) applies primarily to fully vaccinated individuals over 12. For more detailed information please contact the CDC website.

Girl Scouts’ number one priority is the safety and well-being of our members and the families and communities we serve.  The COVID-19 pandemic continues to change as infection rates rise and fall in different areas. There may be regional differences or developments since this guidance was published. Continue to follow local and national directives, and always discuss plans with families.   

No set of guidelines can cover every troop or group meeting situation.  If you have a question about your meeting environment that is not covered in this document, please reach out to your Membership Support Manager for guidance.

COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions can vary greatly from state to state, from county to county, or even from town to town. These restrictions are constantly adjusted in response to local COVID19 transmission risks. For this reason, GSHG’s guidance will be updated as conditions change.  When there are updates in the future, we will note specific changes at the beginning of the new document.

COVID-19 guidance should always be used along with Safety Activity Checkpoints and according to state and local COVID-19 circumstances which change in response to risk factors.

Individuals who may be more susceptible or at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 (including individuals age 65 and older or those with serious underlying health conditions) are encouraged to carefully consider and weigh all risks when deciding whether participating through in-person meetings is appropriate at this time. Each family and volunteer must determine for themselves the risks of attending in-person troop or group meetings and decide when the time is right to participate.

Updated Mask guidance: GSHG members should continue to follow CDC masking guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.  The eased mask-wearing recently announced by the CDC (which suggests resuming all activities as they were prior to Covid-19) applies primarily to fully vaccinated individuals over 12.  For more detailed information, please consult the CDC website.

Vaccines
Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia and Girl Scouts of the USA strongly encourage all members to voluntarily vaccinate against COVID-19. We have prepared an FAQ document here to help answer questions. Please reach out to council staff members with any unanswered questions, comments, or concerns.

Troop, Group and Service Area Meetings

Girl Scouts should take all reasonable precautions to limit potential COVID-19 exposure for girls, themselves, and families. The Girl Scout motto, “Be Prepared”, reminds us of our duty to stay informed and act responsibly. Regularly check and follow real-time local and national safety directives and communicate with troop families about their comfort level with respect to returning to troop meetings and activities.

A short list of things for every in-person gathering:

• Attendee COVID-19 Screening Forms are used
• Girls and adults wear masks
• Outdoors is preferred to indoors, whenever possible
• Always maintain 6 feet distance
• Wash hands
• No touching the face
• Carry disinfectant and make sure girls are using it as appropriate
• Girls and adults bring their own snacks and supplies whenever possible

Meeting Size.  The current GSUSA suggested maximum is ten people (eight girls and two unrelated adult volunteers). However, the Georgia Governor has stated larger groups are now permissable, provided precautions are taken. If your troop or group is larger than 10 people and you wish to meet together, follow all appropriate masking and social distancing guidelines. Allow for proper girl-to-adult ratios. It is strongly recommended to meet outdoors as opposed to indoors, and only when social distancing can be maintained. For more people or large gatherings, when the time is safely appropriate, follow the CDC guidelines.

Face Coverings (Masks). GSHG members should continue to follow CDC masking guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated people.  The eased mask-wearing recently announced by the CDC (which suggests resuming all activities as they were prior to Covid-19) applies primarily to fully vaccinated individuals over 12.   For more detailed information, please consult the CDC website.

Some girls or volunteers may not be able to wear masks, due to medical conditions such as asthma. Troops should inform families so they are aware if there is a member who will participate without wearing a mask due to medical exception. Please contact your Membership Support staff member for guidance on how best to handle these exceptional circumstances.

CDC Cloth Face Cover Guidance.  Use Masks to Help Slow Spread | CDC Improve How Your Mask Protects You | CDC 

Personal Contact. Hugs, handshakes, “high-fives,” and even activities like the friendship circle can transmit COVID-19 from person to person. Create a safe way for girls and volunteers to greet and end meetings instead (like tapping elbows). Note: Use culturally appropriate messages, materials, and resources.

Singing. If you normally close your meetings with a song, make certain girls and adults are all wearing masks. Singing and shouting both project germs farther than talking, ask your girls to either hum their closing song, or sing quietly, and always, of course, with their masks on.

Troop Meetings at Home. GSUSA strongly suggests no meetings in the home out of concern that there would be greater risk of exposure to other family members. In certain exceptional situations and due to the current COVID-19 risk restricting public meeting options, GSHG may permit in-home meetings on a case-by-case basis.  Please reach out to your Membership Support Manager if you would like to meet at a member’s home.  These factors will be considered:

• The home must be the home of registered, background checked, council approved Volunteer.
• Girls may not meet in a home where a registered sex offender lives.
• The troop needs to be able to focus without disruptions from other household members.
• Animals should be kept in a place that is separate from the meeting space.
• Homeowners should consider any personal homeowner insurance implications. The Homeowner should ask their Homeowner’s insurance carrier if there are any insurance exclusions regarding holding troop meetings at the home, in the event an accident or injury occurs.
• Weapons must be completely inaccessible and stored in a locked space.
• Medication, dangerous cleaning products, or any poisonous substance must be stored in a secure space out of sight, preferably locked.
• Meetings should ideally be held outdoors, perhaps in the back or front yard of the home.
• Ensure that the Hygiene and Risk Mitigation and all other guidance in this document are followed.

Backyard Troop Meetings. For back and front yard meetings, make sure that the grounds are completely safe for children. For example, be careful that pools are fenced or otherwise safely sectioned off. The same goes for any equipment or tools or recreational apparatus that is deemed unsafe for girls such as outdoor trampolines. Make sure that pets are kept separate from the girls meeting space. Ensure that both the troop leader and co-leader can see girls and monitor their whereabouts at all times. Maintain the use of the buddy system for errands or bathroom breaks. If the property is large, ensure that the meetings space is kept distinctly separate from non-members.

Meetings on Council Premises. Since regular meeting spaces may not be available, GSHG has made council office spaces and camps available for meetings at no cost.  Please reach out to your Membership Support Manager for more information about locations and availability. 

Virtual Meetings. Meeting options may need to be flexible based on the fluid nature of COVID-19 risk. Troops that are able to run online meetings as needed (or wanted) should continue to do so. GSUSA recommends maintaining a virtual to in-person ratio of at least 20/80, which means to maintain virtual meetings at least 20% of the time to keep tech skills and virtual meeting habits fresh. Use the Safety Activity Checkpoints for Virtual Meetings, to guide your meeting plans. Virtual meeting information can be found on gsLearn and GSHG staff members are available to assist with virtual meetings when needed.

Activities/Programs/Events

Day trips and activities. In conjunction with Safety Activity Checkpoints, the guidance for Troop, Group and Service Area meetings should also be used for day trips and special activities. Call ahead to the facility or vendor to confirm that they are following CDC and state health department guidelines. If activity or sporting equipment is being provided, ask the provider if they wipe down equipment in between uses, similar to wipe downs in between uses for equipment at the gym. Make whatever appropriate accommodations that are necessary. For example, bring extra sanitizer or disinfectant wipes if none will be provided for public use at the activity location. 

Masks Outdoors and for Water Activities.  When outside in groups, masks should be worn.  They may be removed, for a “mask break”, when participants are at least 10 feet apart.  Masks should NOT be worn when participating in water activities such as swimming, canoeing, paddle boarding, and other activities where falling into the water may occur (lifejackets should continue to be worn per Safety Activity Checkpoints for activity).  For these water-based activities, practice safe social distancing while engaging in the activity; maintain 10 or more feet of distance between people who are not in the same family group.

Fire Activities

Masks can be highly flammable, and therefore should not be worn when doing activities with or around fires and open flames.  Social distancing should still be maintained around fires and flames.  Girls younger than 4^th grade (Juniors) should not participate in fire activities at this time unless they are with a parent or guardian who can safely, closely monitor them.  All girls doing fire activities should be trained in fire safety precautions.

Water for Groups. Large water coolers may be used for refilling individual water bottles at meetings and events. Practice safe surface touching protocol; consider having one person in charge of refilling water bottles from the cooler, wearing gloves and a mask.  If individuals are allowed to refill their own water bottles, masks are required when filling, handwashing and/or hand sanitizing or gloves are required before filling, and hand washing and/or sanitizing supplies should be nearby. Water fountains are still off limits at this time.

Food, Dining and Snacks. Be careful when handling and serving food and have girls be careful with each other when eating. Safety recommendations for food, dining and snacks include:

• Encourage girls to bring their own foods to eat (bag lunch or dinner)
• Encourage girls not to share their food after having touched it, such as a bag of chips.
• Individually wrapped items are recommended.
• If providing snacks, especially if unwrapped, have one person, wearing gloves, hand out items to each person, such as with cupcakes or cookies.
• Use a serving spoon or scoop rather than reaching into a bag or bowl of snacks.
• Use a buffet line only if staffed with a safely protected server with mask and gloves.
• Avoid “serve yourself” buffets.
• Public dining only as permitted in your local jurisdiction.
• If serving family style, have one person, wearing clean gloves, serve everyone on clean plates
• Use disposable plates, forks, napkins, etc. when possible.
• Encourage girls to bring foods they can easily cook themselves (a prepacked foil pack) or hotdog for outdoor cooking.
• Ensure everyone handling food, those serving, girls, adults, wash hands (even if they will be wearing gloves) prior to any food prep or meals, following CDC handwashing guidelines.
• If sharing outdoor cooking utensils (roasting forks), they should be washed and sanitized between each use or bring enough utensils so that each person gets their own.
• Continue recommendation for 6 foot spacing during meals.

For more information on readiness, see CDC Planning Tool for Events and Gatherings. 

Travel and overnight stay

The timeframe for resuming travel will vary from state to state and even from county to county in some cases. As always, regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, volunteers must follow guidance in Safety Activity Checkpoints. A GSHG Troop Trip Application must be submitted and approved prior to any travel or overnight stays.  Although travel plans are often arranged several months in advance, recognize that the COVID-19 risk is fluid; it can and will change, and contingencies should be planned ahead of time for re-scheduling, cancelling, or pivoting to a virtual activity. For all planned trips, create a timeline and identify a drop-dead date when decisions must be made about whether or not to move forward with the planned trip, based primarily on the safety of our girls, along with financial commitment deadlines and/or other factors. You should also consider purchasing travel insurance but be sure to read all fine print and ask questions to ensure COVID or pandemic-related cancellation is covered; it is often excluded.

When planning, refer to all current health and safety guidance available in your location as well as for the destination location to ensure the safety of girls. You can access a summary of restrictions by state here. Also, check all guidance provided by the CDC specific to Travel, and, for international travel, check U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories.  Also, consider using the Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool, published by Georgia Tech. This helpful interactive map geographically tracks COVID-19 risk factors by state and county. There is more information about the Georgia Tech tool located under the Additional Resources at the end of this chapter.

Travel approvals will be considered on a case-by-case basis, factoring in the risk associated with the specific type of travel being requested. For example, a troop might request to proceed with a camping trip, with girls and parents of separate households traveling separately, and sleeping and cooking in separate areas. For this type of trip, social distancing is possible, and masks can be worn at all times other than when eating, and eating is occurring only within the family unit. Always implement modifications to travel plans that make social distancing practicable; for example, as mentioned above, travelers from separate households practicing social distancing.

In some rare cases, the troop may essentially be a safe bubble and can operate as one household – they may travel together or sleep in the same room.  Have the families been isolating, and free from contagion? Are girls currently spending time together outside of school on a regular basis? Exercise careful judgement about safe travel. Whatever your troop travel plans look like, make sure all parents/caregivers agree on them.  Keep parents/caregivers fully informed and obtain their written permission for all specific travel arrangements.

Check the CDC Domestic Travel Guidance details about various types of travel, risk factors, and steps to mitigate risk. Another additional resource to examine is the Educator Travel Toolkit created by the Student Youth Travel Organization (although this resource was created for trips planned with a tour provider, the suggestions are more broadly applicable.) Recommendations from this guide include: consider purchasing travel insurance (be sure to understand if the policy has COVID-19 or pandemic exclusions); plan to bring 1-2 adults beyond the ratio-required number of adults and to pre-book an extra accommodation space, in case it is necessary to isolate a traveler from the rest of the group. See the Additional Resources located at the bottom of this document for travel related resources in addition to Safety Activity Checkpoints.

Transportation (carpooling).  It is imperative to take all safety precautions when girls are travelling in motor vehicles. If possible, girls from different households should not carpool. Coronavirus transmission risk is high when people are in close proximity, less than six feet apart. The risk increases when people are in a closed in area or indoors for longer than 10 minutes. When transporting girls, always space out the girls to avoid crowding, have girls wear a mask and keep the windows partially open to provide ventilation. Make sure parents are aware ahead of time if girls will be in a car together and obtain a Parent Permission Form from any carpoolers which specifies that girls will be carpooling. Always, for every in-person event, meeting, or transportation arrangement, conduct the pre-screening process to ensure that coronavirus does not touch Girl Scout gatherings. Individual parent drop-offs and pick-ups are also an option. Public transportation should be avoided.

In some rare cases, the troop may essentially be a safe bubble and can operate as one household – they may travel together or sleep in the same room.  Have the families been isolating, and free from contagion? Are girls currently spending time together outside of school on a regular basis? Exercise careful judgement about safe transportation. Whatever your troop’s plans look like, make sure all parents/caregivers agree on them.  Keep parents/caregivers fully informed and obtain their written permission for all specific travel and transportation arrangements.

Remember:

• Girls and adults should wear masks when inside of a motor vehicle
• Keep car window opened, at least partially, to circulate fresh air.
• Consider the personal situation of your girls.  Do they live with an immune compromised person that they can put at risk? If so, perhaps make other accommodations for her with her parents.
• Prescreen all passengers.  Have the families been isolating, and free from contagion? If so, the troop may essentially be a safe bubble.

Again, sustained contact within less than six (6) feet for longer than ten (10) minutes within an enclosed area creates high risk for virus transmission, so be very careful with carpool decisions.

Meeting Space Hygiene, Safety and Cleanliness

Hygiene and COVID-19 Risk Mitigation. Follow the resources developed by credible public health sources such as CDC or your local public health department. Share these with girls and volunteers and ensure that they are practiced during meetings and activities. Place signs in the meeting or activity space to remind girls and volunteers to engage in everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Signs should include:

• Stay home if you are sick.
• Cough and sneeze into a tissue, throw the tissue in the trash, and wash or sanitize your hands.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Wash hands if you do touch these areas and other items that may not be sanitized.
• Volunteers, girls, and parents should be reminded to make sure temperatures are taken prior to group interaction to confirm the individual is not running a fever and temperature is a normal 98.6 degrees. Members with fever or temperature higher than 98.6 should skip the in-person gathering until their temperature is normal.

First Aid Supplies. Troop first aid supplies should include COVID-19 prevention items including hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol), hydrogen peroxide wipes, tissues, disposable facemasks, and disinfectants. Trash baskets or bags should be supplied for meeting and activity spaces, if not already available. Disposable or no-contact thermometers may be added to supplies if available and not cost-prohibitive.

First Aid / CPR Training. Keep skills up to date for any emergency. Talk to your council about alternative methods of training that may be available during this time, such as on-line training. For the time period that in-person training is not available,  volunteers can receive on-line training with a council approved training provider. Once possible in your jurisdiction, have volunteers resume in-person skills assessment.

Disinfectants and Disinfecting. Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched (i.e., tabletops, markers, scissors, etc.). Use a household disinfectant cleaner, or see the EPA’s list of effective cleaners approved for use against COVID-19. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method and contact time, etc.). See the CDC’s website for more on cleaning and disinfecting community facilities.

Food, Dining and Snacks. Be careful when handling and serving food and have girls be careful with each other when eating. Safety recommendations for food, dining and snacks include:

• Encourage girls to bring their own foods to eat (bag lunch or dinner)
• Encourage girls not to share their food after having touched it, such as a bag of chips.
• Individually wrapped items are recommended.
• If providing snacks, especially if unwrapped, have one person, wearing gloves, hand out items to each person, such as with cupcakes or cookies.
• Use a serving spoon or scoop rather than reaching into a bag or bowl of snacks.
• Use a buffet line only if staffed with a safely protected server with mask and gloves.
• Avoid “serve yourself” buffets.
• Public dining only as permitted in your local jurisdiction.
• If serving family style, have one person, wearing clean gloves, serve everyone on plates
• Use disposable plates, forks, napkins, etc. when possible.
• Encourage girls to bring foods they can easily cook themselves (a prepacked foil pack) or hotdog for outdoor cooking.
• Ensure everyone handling food, those serving, girls, adults, wash hands (even if they will be wearing gloves) prior to any food prep or meals, following CDC handwashing guidelines.
• If sharing outdoor cooking utensils (roasting forks), they should be washed and sanitized between each use or bring enough utensils so that each person gets their own.
• Continue recommendation for 6 foot spacing during meals.

Restrooms. Be very careful in public restrooms. Most public restrooms will regulate the number of people using the restroom at the same time, depending on the size. If there no regulator or signage, have volunteers ensure girls take appropriate turns to maintain social distancing and that they wear their masks in the restrooms. It is ideal to have automatic flushers and sensory faucets to wash hands. If these are not available, girls and adults should get in the habit of using tissue or paper towel to open doors and latches, touching as little as possible. If the restroom is large, have girls use every other stall and avoid using stalls with a person in the stall next to them at the same time. Restrooms and toilets are fraught with germs normally, and more so now considering the contagion of coronavirus.

If Someone in Your Girl Scout Troop or a Troop Member’s Family Member has been Tested for COVID:

• If a member of the troop is tested for COVID, they must quarantine from in-person interaction with other troop members until the results of the test are known.
• If a member of a troop member’s family is tested for COVID, the troop member must quarantine from in-person interaction with other troop members until the results of the test are known.
• If a member has been quarantined due to community COVID exposure (i.e. work, school, sports) the member must quarantine from in-person interaction with other troop members until the specified quarantine period expires.

If You or Someone in Your Girl Scout Troop or Group Tests Positive for COVID-19

In the event of a COVID-19 positive test result, do NOT contact the parents or troop members.  Promptly complete an incident report (ASAP but no longer that 24 hours following the notification) and submit to Dee-Dee Rivers, Interim Director of Membership at drivers@gshg.org.   Include the name of the person with the positive test result, any other people present in the meeting with that person, the date of the meeting, the name and address of the meeting site, and the site contact person and their phone number.  A council staff member and NOT volunteers, will then be responsible for: 

• Confirming and tracing the positive tester,  
• Contacting the parents of anyone who may have been exposed (or other volunteers),  
• Notifying a facility or homeowner where a troop has met, and  
• Alerting the state department of health.  

Council staff, NOT volunteers, will notify parents and others about a positive test result.  The tester’s identity is confidential. Remember that girl and volunteer health information is private and strictly confidential and should be only shared on a need-to-know basis with a council staff member.  Questions should be directed to Dee-Dee Rivers at drivers@gshg.org or 478-973-7651.

These guidelines will be adjusted and updated as additional recommendations and protocols are released. Our council leadership team continues to evaluate the current state of COVID-19 in each council region. We currently anticipate that these guidelines will remain in place until further notice.  We will evaluate the impacts of students returning to school before updating in-person meeting guidance.

Additional Resources

1. Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool. This current interactive map published by Georgia Tech College of Sciences is a planning tool for troop meetings, service unit meetings and Girl Scout events. Councils can insert the size of a meeting (number of attendees) on the sliding scale to the left and then click on the destination state and county on the interactive map. Once the map link is clicked, a likelihood percentage appears which indicates the risk of COVID-19 exposure or the likelihood of contracting COVID at a gathering given the levels of infection, by county, nationwide. Find out more information on this interactive tool by visiting the Georgia Tech College of Sciences homepage.
           Georgia Tech - Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool
           Georgia Tech College of Sciences – Homepage
   
   
2. CDC One-Stop-Shop Toolkit. The One-Stop-Shop CDC page offers an array of topic specific COVID-19 guidance. There are many topics to review. Some of the notable subjects are copied in the below links, but all of them are very good and worth a review. This One-Stop-Shop site is updated regularly as situations arise. Main page: COVID-10 One-Stop Shop Toolkits
   
       Topic Specific Links:
           Suggestions for Camp and Camp Administrators
           Toolkit for Childcare Programs and Summer Camp
           People with Disabilities
           Toolkit for Youth Sports and Activities
           Toolkit for Domestic Travelers
           Travel in the United States
           Visiting Parks and Recreational Facilities
   
   
3.  COVID-19 Resource Center for Camps – American Camp Association