COVID-19 Reopening Updates

All guidelines are based on CDC and Montgomery County regulations/guidelines as well as expert opinion from our Health Committee.

Corona Virus (COVID-19) Updates

Last updated November 23rd at 12:30 PM eastern

Friends,

In an effort to keep our shul as safe an environment as possible while meeting our members’ needs, the Beth Sholom board last night adopted by a 25-0 vote new vaccine and masking requirements along with permitting the resumption of private events in the shul building. We did not take any of these decisions lightly and discussed them over the course of multiple monthly meetings, with input from our Health Committee and shul staff. We hope that these new requirements and guidelines will allow Beth Sholom to continue to be a place of prayer and learning, while enabling greater social interaction and engagement - from kiddush to bnei mitzvah and weddings - than we have become accustomed to over the past two years.

Beginning January 1, anyone age 5 and older who enters Beth Sholom will be required to be vaccinated, with exceptions for those who have a medical exemption from a doctor. This requirement will not begin until January 1 in order to give enough time for anyone who is not yet vaccinated to do so. In conjunction with the vaccination requirement, masks for vaccinated individuals will no longer be required inside the shul building beginning January 1 so long as there is no Montgomery Country mask mandate in place and the county’s original threshold for lifting the mask mandate is met, although we welcome and encourage anyone who still wishes to wear a mask for health and safety reasons to do so. In addition, private events can be held inside the shul building effective immediately so long as all attendees are vaccinated, while those who are ineligible to be vaccinated wear masks and those who have a medical exemption have a negative PCR test prior to the event.

The new rules can be found below, and we ask that everyone please read them in full. If there is anyone who is hesitant for any reason about getting vaccinated or has any questions, we welcome you reaching out to the rabbis (clergy@bethsholom.org), the president (president@bethsholom.org), or the Health Committee (health@bethsholom.org) to discuss your concerns. These new rules are not intended to dissuade anyone from attending shul or to be divisive, but are intended to make us as safe as possible and allow some of our most vulnerable members to resume coming to Beth Sholom after staying away for nearly two years.

The new rules will operate on the honor system, which is a measure of the trust we have in each other and also a signal of our responsibility to each other. We know that no Beth Sholom member would purposely put anyone else in danger, and we view it as a sign of the strength of our community that we all trust each other to be honest and forthright. We are asking everyone to comply with the new rules, and we thank you all in advance for your patience, understanding, and help in upholding our community norms.

As always, irrespective of the new rules on vaccines and masks, if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or have any COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home - we value your health and the health of our community, and we do not want to put anyone at risk.

1) Starting January 1st, no one eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine who is unvaccinated will be allowed inside Beth Sholom.
2) The vaccine requirement is for anyone over age 12 to be fully vaccinated by January 1st (more than 14 days after second shot of Pfizer or Moderna or after single J and J shot).
3) The vaccine requirement is for anyone between age 5-11 to have at least once dose of the COVID vaccine by January 1st.
4) The only exceptions to the vaccine requirement are members with valid medical exemptions from a doctor.
5) All vaccination-eligible guests on Beth Sholom premises are required to be vaccinated unless they have a valid medical exemption from a doctor. It will be the responsibility of the Beth Sholom member hosting said guests to ensure that all eligible guests are vaccinated.

Mask Mandate:
As of now, Montgomery Country has reinstituted a County mask mandate, so the following only applies once Montgomery County lifts its indoor mask mandate. All of the below criteria must be met to lift the Beth Sholom indoor mask
requirement for vaccinated individuals (anyone ineligible for vaccination or medically exempted must continue to mask):
1) After January 1st, 2022 (when the shul vaccine requirement goes into effect)
2) Montgomery County meets its criteria to lift the County mask mandate
3) Seven straight days of less than substantial transmission in Montgomery County 

Private events:
Private events with indoor dining will be allowed at Beth Sholom starting immediately as long as the host of the event can ensure that all eligible attendees and all vendors are vaccinated. This requires attendees age 12 and over to be
fully vaccinated and at least one COVID vaccine shot for attendees age 5-11 years old. Those under 5 are allowed to attend as long as they are masked when not eating. Guests who are unvaccinated with a medical exemption from a doctor may attend if they have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the event.

Beth Sholom Congregation
For rabbis: clergy@bethsholom.org
For office: office@bethsholom.org
For health policy related questions: health@bethsholom.org