The ten sets of dance organizers running regular series at the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, MA have agreed to a Covid policy for all of our dances. You can see it here:It includes mandatory masks, proof of vaccination, signing a waiver, and contact information. Testing is not required but highly recommended.Liz Sturgen_______________________________________________On Tue, Oct 4, 2022, 11:39 PM Joe Harrington via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:Actually, I read Donald Perley's comment apolitically, not as a statement that policies should recognize COVID's severe threat to humanity and thus be severe themselves (that's politics), but rather that the severity of COVID in your community at any given moment varies, and so should your policy, for example, to relieve the stress on hospitals.For example, Contra Knights in Orlando is a new group that just started holding public dances this summer. It is illegal here to require vaccination ($5000 fine per person denied, per occurrence, even if you're an unincorporated association or a nonprofit), and there is significant local resistance to mask requirements. So our policy is to recommend masks, to supply KN95s free, to require masks if the case numbers spike, and to cancel dances if the hospitals are stressed, on the presumption that we WILL spread COVID if it's around and adding to hospital stress would be particularly bad.We don't advertise that on our website, we just do it. When BA.4/5 started spiking this summer, we required masks and said that we very strongly urged and expected vaccines, and asked unvaccinated people not to come. But, we didn't check cards or refuse anyone admission, so we were compliant with the law. Attendance was 30% lower at that dance than the prior one, and I heard it from unvaccinated people, but hospitals were starting to get stressed. A month later, we were back to merely recommending masks, as the numbers had gone down and hospitals were no longer stressed.--jh--Joe Harrington
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Faculty Advisor, Contra Knights, the UCF contra dancing club
contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe@gmail.com_______________________________________________On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 4:25 PM Jeff Kaufman via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:I agree that how important it is to avoid getting or spreading covid should be a major driver of dance policies. But I don't think this list is a good place for discussion evaluating that importance: there's no "dance organizer" perspective on that, so there's not much reason to have the discussion here.Jeff_______________________________________________On Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 4:05 PM Ron Blechner <contraron@gmail.com> wrote:Seconding Donald's comments.If this were about say, dealing with harassers, or an alcohol policy, or any other safety issue, my assumption is that we wouldn't be looking to avoid discussion if there was a major difference on the perception of harm or danger.This is one of the few places online where people mostly still are being fairly civil; those "other places" I've almost entirely left or muted because the debate has been so hostile. In contrast, what I read here are people of some fairly differing opinions and no one is shouting or making personal attacks.On Tue, Oct 4, 2022, 3:18 PM Donald Perley via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:How serious COVID is should be the driving force behind any COVID policy._______________________________________________On Tue, Oct 4, 2022, 2:03 PM Jeff Kaufman <jeff@alum.swarthmore.edu> wrote:Discussion of covid policies and implementation are a good fit for this list.Discussion of how organizations have navigated conflicting needs and preferences around covid in their communities is also good fit for this list.General "how seriously should you take covid at this point" discussion is not a good fit: there are lots of other places to have that debate.JeffOn Tue, Oct 4, 2022 at 1:39 PM Donald Perley via Organizers <organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:Re COVID in general in the US, we are still seeing around 500 deaths per day.
On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 4:29 PM John Sweeney via Organizers
<organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> Is COVID still that much of a problem in the USA?
>
> Our current policy is:
> "Vaccinations and LFTs are appreciated, but not required. Please stay at home if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or you feel unwell in any other way."
>
> We still provide sanitisers and remind people to use them. We have never required masks as they can be counter-productive when exercising. We have been dancing again since July 20th 2021, when lockdown ended.
>
> I don't know of any UK dance organisations that take any more precautions than us.
>
> Happy dancing,
> John
>
> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john@modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574
> http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs
> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
> http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs
>
>
>
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