COVID News & Resources

March 9, 2022: Together over the last two years, we have come together as members, volunteers, staff, vendors, and supporters to be there for Girl Scouts when they needed us, and I’m proud of how well we’ve adapted and learned together throughout the pandemic.

I’m writing today to share significant changes to our COVID-19 in-person activity guidance. We are making these changes now because vaccines are readily available, easy to access, and free for all age groups that participate in Girl Scouts and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently changed its recommendations regarding masking.

In almost all cases, the guidance will shift from requirements to recommendations. The full In-Person Girl Scout Activity Guidance (PDF) document has been updated , and you should always continue to reference this page for the most up-to-date information. 

Here is a Summary

• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued new guidelines for masking. The CDC now classifies counties according to the levels of COVID-19 transmission in the community as low, medium or high. 

• As of March 9, 2022, most of the counties River Valleys serves are classified at either low or medium levels of COVID-19 transmission, and we will no longer require universal mask usage while indoors. 

• Effective today, mask requirements will depend on the COVID-19 community transmission level your county is assigned. Visit CDC: COVID-19 by County to find your county’s status.

• In counties with medium levels, masks are encouraged. 

• In counties with high levels, masks remain required while conducting Girl Scout activities indoors. 

• Please remember that some participants may choose to continue to wear masks even when it is not required. Please respect the personal safety choices of others.

• There are no longer maximum limits on group size, indoors or out. However, breaking large groups into pods of 25 people or fewer is recommended.

• Indoor meetings and activities, including those at public facilities, are allowed.

• Overnights are allowed, indoors and outdoors. Limiting sleeping to one household per area is recommended, as is maintaining six feet of distance if possible. 

• Food may be prepared and served following our standard kitchen use and food preparation requirements and with consideration to additional COVID-19 recommendations.

• Use of public transportation and busses is allowed. 

• Travel is also allowed, including international travel. Travel must always be pre-approved through the Girl Scouts River Valleys travel planning and approval process.

• International trips must follow all CDC travel guidelines, destination country guidelines, and be pre-approved through the Girl Scouts River Valleys approval processes.

• Girl Scouts can only participate in international trips if the travel health notice is at a level 1, level 2 or level 3 for their trip destination. Check for COVID-19 travel health notices.

Approach to Vaccination

We encourage all Girl Scouts, volunteers, parents, and caregivers participating in Girl Scout activities to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if they are able.

Although vaccination is not a requirement of membership, Girl Scouts River Valleys may require proof of COVID-19 vaccination (or a negative test result) to participate in council programs, events, or camp sessions.

With advanced council staff permission, volunteers may also require participants to provide either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative test result before participating Girl Scout activities, events, or travel. Both options must be offered.  Please see our Volunteer Process for Vaccination document for more instruction on this process. 

Requirements for Exposure or Positive Test Result

Any individual who is directly exposed or has COVID-19 or its symptoms should refrain from attending Girl Scouts activities. Various factors affect how long a person should wait to attend and what the reporting requirements are. Please review the guidance details to familiarize yourself with the updated requirements. 

What to Expect

While this new guidance is effective today, it may take some time for volunteers leading programs, travel, or troop activities to adjust their plans, or they may choose not to adjust their plans. 

Please be patient with and respectful to anyone planning or leading an activity while they get reoriented. This is the biggest change we’ve made since the first shutdown and early guidance. It will likely take the same amount of time and effort to adopt this new approach.

Girl Scouts, families, and volunteers are not required to participate in any activity. It is the sole discretion of each individual family and their comfort level with the planned activity. All participants should be supported, included, and welcomed and their personal safety choices, such as continued mask use or requests for physical distancing, should be honored and respected.

Good communication with families and fellow volunteers continues to be vital. Discuss plans with families and fellow volunteers and be flexible and patient as you work together to decide the best course of action.

Inclusion and access are critically important. Make sure that you have considered access and inclusion as you make your plans.

Girl Scouts River Valleys’ properties and equipment may not all be immediately available due to maintenance schedules and staffing levels. If you have questions regarding properties and equipment, contact Kyria at girlscouts@girlscoutsrv.org.

Our program, camp, leader support, volunteer engagement, and travel support staff are also ready to help you understand and interpret these changes. You can submit your questions to girlscouts@girlscoutsrv.org and our customer care team will get your question to the right person.

And lastly, we’ve all learned to expect the unexpected. The situation, of course, may change on us again. If we have to, we may need to tighten this guidance and introduce more restrictions. I hope this is not the case, but please be prepared in case I need to write to you about this again.

Our Journey Together

We, our council—all of us—have done remarkably well throughout the pandemic. We have kept Girl Scouts, members, and our communities safe, our top and most important priority. We also learned new skills (hello Zoom, Rallyhood, video, and more!), created virtual programs, meetings, events, and camp (!), learned, laughed, and cried together, leaned on and trusted each other, and when something didn’t work, we tried again. In short, we were Girl Scouts.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your patience, your creativity, your grit, and your commitment. I have been so inspired and humbled by what you’ve done for girls and their future.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or send in your questions to girlscouts@girlscoutsrv.org. I hope you have a wonderful spring and summer ahead!

In Girl Scouting,

Jen Thorson 
Chief Operating Officer 
Girl Scouts River Valleys