BACDS COVID Safety Info (Updated September 30, 2023)

BACDS as an organization believes that country dancing helps bring joy, beauty, friendship and community to the world, and we’re happy to return to our mission of doing that in person.

But we certainly don't want to find we've hosted a superspreader event!

So we've worked with dancers with medical and biological expertise to produce a system that we believe will allow us to return to dancing in tolerable safety even as COVID-19 continues to mutate.

We have been adjusting BACDS’ COVID policies since re-opening in March 2022. The current policies were adopted by the BACDS Board at the September 2023 meeting and will be reviewed in March 2024 or reviewed earlier if circumstances warrant).

Now that we have fully returned to in-person dancing, the "Oddly Even Sundays" online English dance series will also continue for those who are uncomfortable dancing in person, geographically disfavored, or just enjoy it. The Odd Sundays Garage Band produced many recordings tailored for online dancing (and listening pleasure).

Thank you for sticking with us during these difficult times, and we hope to see you at a dance soon!

BACDS COVID policy October 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024:

MASKING

BACDS no longer requires masking for anyone. We strongly recommend dancers continue to mask indoors - N95, KN95 or effective tech masks like Airgami are recommended.

We ask that everyone honor everyone else's personal choice on whether to mask or not. Do not pressure callers to unmask. (If you're having trouble hearing them, say so, but know they're wearing a mask for a reason and don't ask them to unmask.)

STILL REQUIRED:

You should not attend if -

• You have a fever plus 2 or more symptoms of COVID, or
• You test positive for COVID, or
• There is someone else in the home with a fever plus 2 or more symptoms of COVID, or
• There is someone else in the home who tests positive for COVID.

After getting COVID, wait at least 7 days AFTER you get a negative test result, so long as there is no positive test afterwards, before coming to a BACDS event again. Likewise, if someone else in the home has had COVID, wait at least 7 days after they no longer test positive before coming back to our dances. (CDC now recommends at least 2 negative results from at-home tests, 48 hours apart, to be sure of that result.)

Anyone who comes down with COVID within a week after attending a BACDS event should notify BACDS.

NO LONGER REQUIRED as part of baseline precautions:

• Proof of up-to-date vaccination;
• Individual signed attestation forms for each dance event;
• Different levels of precaution based on risk levels.
• Masking on the dance floor (but still strongly recommended)

Rationales for the September 2023 BACDS Board policy change:

At this point, with very little of the Bay Area population immuno-naive - that is, immune systems have been familiarized either through getting COVID or through vaccination - cases are less severe than they used to be, and even with hospitalizations rising at present, death rates aren't going up. We know that some people can't tolerate dancing in masks, and that masks degrade the experience even for many people who can tolerate them. While we remain concerned about the possibilities of transmission between unmasked people the consequences of such transmission are less severe than they used to be. We therefore are more comfortable with allowing unmasked dancers - while still strongly recommending that masks be worn both to enhance the safety of the wearer and to reduce the chances of transmission.

(Note that individual dance series may choose more restrictions than the BACDS policy requires.)