Emmaus COVID-19 Information

MASK POLICY

At their meeting on Sunday, July 25th, based on input received, and in consideration of the current information available at that time, the Oversight Boarded decided to update our mask rule to match the current Washington State and CDC recommendation/requirements. At that time, this would only require masks on those who are not fully vaccinated (per the current Washington state mask mandate) at our weekly gatherings.

Developments since our July 25th meeting:

  • On Tuesday, July 28th, because of surging infection rates of the COVID-19 Delta variant in many parts of the country, the CDC revised their guidance to include a recommendation for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission (view the full list of these revisions here).

  • On August 18th, Governor Jay Inslee announced that the existing statewide mask mandate will be expanded to once again include vaccinated individuals in indoor settings, effective Monday, August 23 (text of subsequent proclamation can be found here, and Washington Secretary of Health order can be found here).

  • Please remember that a number of factors that apply to our Sunday gatherings may increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19 (extended periods of time in the same indoor space, singing, removal of masks during periods of eating or drinking, and presence of children who cannot currently be vaccinated.

In summary: We are asking everyone who is able to wear a mask to follow this updated state mask requirement, in order to be able to continue to meet in person. We know that this is getting tiring for everyone, but unfortunately we are not through this yet. We hope that we can all continue to be considerate of each other's health as well as our own as we make these difficult decisions in almost every aspect of our lives right now!

OTHER NOTES REGARDING OUR INDOOR CHURCH GATHERINGS:

  • Seating will continue to be separated into family groups.

  • Please continue to use your best judgement to decide if you and/or your family should come to worship in-person, based on health conditions, vaccination status, previous possible COVID exposure, etc. We still need to do our best to prevent any possible spread of COVID, so we can get all the way through this pandemic!