I don't even need to ask...this is a bad idea right?

[bisous]

I'm going to suggest to hold it outside. We have a location at the very same venue that is outside! I know it will mess with their plan, but it will be so much better for the attendees. There will be children there, no doubt. I did not plan to bring my young children there, however, and our family would all wear masks. This is a group with members for whom wearing a mask would be a hill to die on. I suppose it is possible that the people who were exposed were vaccinated or that people with exposure were tested 5 days post exposure... I will ask about this.

We are in an area with substantial spread and I agree that having people from other areas come is a risk factor though honestly there has been so much travel among people that I know all summer that we're all mixing up our germs anyway, right?

The three attendees from our family would all be vaccinated and we'd all wear masks. So maybe we'll go regardless? So hard to decide...

[PZMommy]

If it is inside, I would not go! Outside maybe, but my family would not attend. The covid numbers are way too high here and the lack of testing means they are even higher, we just don’t know about them. I know you are slightly north of me so not quite as bad there, but it’s not worth the risk. I’d be worried about catching it, even if vaccinated and then bringing it home to your kids. Many people who are vaccinated are not following guidelines and not testing after exposure so they could be carriers and not even know it. It’s just not worth the risk!

[legaleagle]

No way would I go to an indoor event like this, even if you're all vaccinated. The breakthrough delta data is so scary, and frankly, I don't want to be around anyone who refuses to mask anyway. FWIW, we don't have any risk factors either. Outdoor yes, with some amount of social distancing.

[gatorsmom]

We would go because our whole family is vaccinated but I agree with the other pp. Why not have it outside? Aren’t there covered shelters in a city park they could reserve for this? That’s generally where our Eagle COH are held.

[KpbS]

This just sounds like something that could easily be held outdoors instead and if you have the ability to make that suggestion, do it.

Otherwise, given that you have a child with a risk factor, I'd skip it and let the others make their own decisions.

I would do the same!

[Liziz]

If I was simply an invited participant/no leadership role: I would be uncomfortable with this event. If my children were both vaccinated, we would still go, wearing our masks. Given that my children are too young to be vaccinated though, I would not be comfortable attending and would just not attend. I would definitely be comfortable attending if it was outside - even if it was mask optional, if I'm outside AND my family still masks (we do), then I feel safe enough......I would struggle to be comfortable even if they make it mask mandatory. At least around me, even at the VERY few mask mandatory things I see, more than half the people still aren't wearing masks, no one's enforcing anything, etc. It's just too stressful.

If I was in leadership for the group: I would strongly advocate for the group following CDC and County guidance, which at this point it seems like definitely requires masks inside. I would also strongly advocate for moving to an outdoor venue, particularly if there's a lot of pushback on the mandatory masks. I was in this position last year (Board member in a group trying to hold activities with a broad range of opinions on what was "right"), and I always just tried to push my points without getting into my own opinions -- I'd instead point out things like "I believe strongly that as a group that represents this organization, we have a duty to show we are obeying local ordinances" and things like "I recognize we'll never make everyone happy with our choices, but our group could face very bad publicity if we had the bad fortune to become a superspreader event. If we're hosting this, it's important we're moving forward in a way we can defend later and show we were following available guidance". It isn't something I would totally destroy all my connections fighting, but I'd make it clear where I stand, and if they proceeded indoors, I'd respectfully decline to participate with my family.

In regards to the part about the one recent COVID case in the group - honestly this part doesn't change any of my thinking, and I think you may be better off advocating for policies that adhere to guidance generally, rather than bring up the specific case from last week -- it's really easy to end up singling people out and making people get defensive if you start talking about individual people who might be exposed, be positive, etc. The reality is that we're still seeing such a high rate of asymptomatic/minor cases that I don't think we can really consider anyone more or less "safe" at this point unless they've totally isolated for 2 weeks -- the event should be made safer regardless of whether or not there was just a positive case in the group.

[jgenie]

I would skip an indoor event. I might attend an outdoor event if we were all vaccinated and there was someone we were especially close to being honored.


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[Snow mom]

I’d skip the event for sure if inside. The COVID case doesn’t exactly change anything for me—there is COVID that we know about and COVID that we don’t. Whether or not someone had tested positive I’d assume it is a large risk that someone would be positive at the event. I long ago gave up hope that I could change anyone’s behavior when it comes to contagious disease and risk taking so I just make decisions for myself assuming most of those around me are taking no precautions. I thought PP had good suggestions for phrasing on alternative ideas or why your troop might want to be cautious.

[AnnieW625]

I know you are very Covid cautious. Just know that my family would have no problem attending that event. Everyone has their own comfort level. I think I would probably feel a bit leary simply because someone recently had it. I think it is up to you if you want to attend or not. Seems like you live somewhere that it could easily be outside. But, unless you are willing to do all the necessary work to pull that off, I would probably let it play out as the organizers have planned it.

I very much agree with this. Wear masks and leave your unvaxxed kids at home if you can. I would plan on going especially with your DS so he can see first hand the kids who have completed their Eagle projects. This maybe the final push he needs to get him to complete it.


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[bisous]

If I was simply an invited participant/no leadership role: I would be uncomfortable with this event. If my children were both vaccinated, we would still go, wearing our masks. Given that my children are too young to be vaccinated though, I would not be comfortable attending and would just not attend. I would definitely be comfortable attending if it was outside - even if it was mask optional, if I'm outside AND my family still masks (we do), then I feel safe enough......I would struggle to be comfortable even if they make it mask mandatory. At least around me, even at the VERY few mask mandatory things I see, more than half the people still aren't wearing masks, no one's enforcing anything, etc. It's just too stressful.

If I was in leadership for the group: I would strongly advocate for the group following CDC and County guidance, which at this point it seems like definitely requires masks inside. I would also strongly advocate for moving to an outdoor venue, particularly if there's a lot of pushback on the mandatory masks. I was in this position last year (Board member in a group trying to hold activities with a broad range of opinions on what was "right"), and I always just tried to push my points without getting into my own opinions -- I'd instead point out things like "I believe strongly that as a group that represents this organization, we have a duty to show we are obeying local ordinances" and things like "I recognize we'll never make everyone happy with our choices, but our group could face very bad publicity if we had the bad fortune to become a superspreader event. If we're hosting this, it's important we're moving forward in a way we can defend later and show we were following available guidance". It isn't something I would totally destroy all my connections fighting, but I'd make it clear where I stand, and if they proceeded indoors, I'd respectfully decline to participate with my family.

In regards to the part about the one recent COVID case in the group - honestly this part doesn't change any of my thinking, and I think you may be better off advocating for policies that adhere to guidance generally, rather than bring up the specific case from last week -- it's really easy to end up singling people out and making people get defensive if you start talking about individual people who might be exposed, be positive, etc. The reality is that we're still seeing such a high rate of asymptomatic/minor cases that I don't think we can really consider anyone more or less "safe" at this point unless they've totally isolated for 2 weeks -- the event should be made safer regardless of whether or not there was just a positive case in the group.

Great phrasing. I'm going to use it. Great point about active cases vs just an area with a lot of community spread!