COVID-19 Guidance for Meetings and Activities

There are many things to consider as you are planning to meet in person as changes may have occurred since you last met. We encourage troop leaders to hold a virtual meeting with parents/caregivers before your plan your first in-person meeting/activities. Our COVID-19 First Meeting Plan is a useful guide to help plan your first in-person meeting. Consider the following:

• Your families are comfortable for their girls to meet in person
• Able to provide a virtual blended meeting for girls that aren’t able to participate in person can join via a meeting platform
• The size of your troop is able to meet at your meeting space and maintain social distancing
• Discuss the GSSNV safety requirements and how parents can help practice with their girls the importance of wearing a mask and maintain social distance during troop meeting/activities.
  

Consent to Participate
Due to COVID-19 we have added additional forms that must be completed. Before in-person troop meetings take place or continue and upon receiving a copy of guidelines/safety measures from the leader, the caregiver/parent is required to complete and return the  GSSNV COVID-19 Family Agreement prior to a girl’s participation for every in-person event, meeting, or activity. Please be sure to review additional details on the required troop cleaning, mask, social distancing, and troop travel protocols outlined in the Troop Activity Information.

We have updated our troop meeting permission form for the 2020-2021 troop year. Have caregivers/parents sign the updated GSSNV COVID-19 Troop Meeting Permission form prior to their girls joining an in-person activity/meeting.

Taking Attendance
Troops must take attendance at each troop meeting or event in order to Troops must take attendance at each troop meeting or event in order to insure there can be adequate contact tracing if a participant is later diagnosed with COVID-19. Attendance can be recorded by a troop adult in their person cell phone, on paper and kept in the troop notebook, or recorded in the Volunteer Toolkit. The troop leadership team is responsible for ensuring that this information can be made available if needed.

Troop Meeting Space
Outdoor spaces where social distancing can be maintained are strongly recommended for meetings. Get advance permission from the property owner or the jurisdiction that provides the location.

For meetings held at public facilities, contact the facility ahead of time and ask:

• Is the space cleaned, and touch surfaces (i.e., tabletops, light switches, chairs, etc.) sanitized, at least daily?
• Who else uses the space (how often, what size is the group)? Is the space cleaned between groups?
• What type of faucets / soap dispensers are available in the restroom (sensory or manual)?

Then, consider whether you can supplement any practices that are less ideal. For example, if you will arrive after another user group, plan to bring sanitizing wipes or disinfectant spray to get the space ready for your troop. Another example: if faucets are manual, take some time to show girls how to shut them off with a paper towel. Use paper towels for doorknobs whenever possible.

Meetings may not be held in fitness centers or gyms, where a greater risk for contracting the virus may exist. Schools or churches may not permit outside groups on premises, so always check and confirm ahead of time.

Troop Meetings in the Home
GSUSA and GSSNV strongly suggests no meetings in the home out of concern that there would be greater risk of exposure to other family members. The recommendation is to stay away from in-home meetings for the time being. Suggested meeting sites – in the park, community centers, or reserve a time at the Scout Houses/council office. If you would like to learn other suggestion for meeting sites please contact Membership Support team at customerservice@girlsoutsnv.org.

Troop Meeting Size
Refer to the adult-girl ratio in GSSNV Volunteer Essentials. At a minimum there must be at least two unrelated trained and background checked adults at every meeting. 

Snacks and Meals

For troop meeting and event with food served follow the safety tips below:

• Prioritize use of “grab-n-go” items that are pre-packaged.
• 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.
• 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.
• Indoor dining maintains 6-foot social distancing during mealtimes.
• Prioritize and make available outdoor seating areas ideally with 6 feet of physical distance; aim to decrease the density by as much as half. For example, if a table typically seats six, seat only three girls and adults at that table.
  

Restrooms
Most public restrooms will regulate the number of people using the restroom at the same time, depending on the size. If there is 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 towels 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.

Transportation
Individual parents should drop off and pick up their own girls from meetings. Carpooling and public transportation should be avoided, where possible, to maintain social distancing.

Carpooling may occur based on the comfort level of the troop/group. If carpooling:

• Two unrelated adults and two passengers (4 people) to a vehicle
• Disinfect vehicle’s high touch areas before and after each trip
• Girls and adults wear masks for the entire trip
• Keep car window opened, at least slightly, to circulate fresh air.
• Troop leader retains list of each vehicle’s occupants for 90 days

Remember, 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.

CDC guidance for ride shares and drivers for hire may be helpful as an additional reference when evaluating motor vehicle transportation or car-pooling: Ride Shares and Drivers for Hire

Service Unit Meeting Events
As much as possible, please hold your meetings virtually. If a Service Unit is planning an in-person event, verify the council COVID-19 participant capacity phase supports your event occupancy and contact your Membership Support Specialist for approval. Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 we recommend that you plan a virtual option for your in-person event.

Service Units should:

• Events should follow the COVID-19 safety requirements listed in this document, GSSNV Volunteer Essentials and Safety Activity Checkpoints
• Parents/caregivers are to sign the GSSNV COVID-19 Family Agreement form
• The Service Unit is to keep a roster of all attendees attending the event
• Participants are to maintain 6-foot social distancing