March 7, 2022
Dear Members of our Y Family,
As you may know, it was recently announced that based upon CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels data, Penobscot County, along with the entire state of Maine, is now at a MEDIUM community level. After further discussion with the Maine CDC, YMCA’s in the State of Maine, and Y-USA representatives, the following has been decided and will take into effect Wednesday, March 9th:
- The Bangor Region YMCA will be changing our current mandatory Mask Requirement to being Mask Optional for all members. We encourage all members to do what is best for you regarding the wearing or non-wearing of masks. We know this is a very personal choice and many factors play into this decision, so please know that we embrace whatever you decide is best for you and your family.
- If you are living with a chronic disease or are a participant in any of our Evidence-Based Chronic Disease Programs, please talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions.
- For the families with children in our licensed childcare programs, including Preschool and School-Age Y Academy Before and After School programs, we will be transitioning to Masks Optional at our YMCA site. For those families participating in our on-site programs at their respective schools, we will follow the Mask Guideline for your specific School Department.It will be Mask Optional for those participating in our Bangor Region YMCA Teen Center.
- Any member or child with symptoms and/or a positive test for COVID-19 is not allowed to attend any of our programs at our YMCA or School-Age Programs On-Site at partner Schools.
- If you are fully vaccinated and are exposed to someone with COVID-19, you will not have to quarantine if you have no symptoms. If you are not fully vaccinated and are exposed to someone with COVID-19, you will have to quarantine whether you have symptoms or not.
- We will still need everyone to sign in and out of the different areas of our Y by writing their name and in/out times on our Sign In/Sign Out Sheets.
- Note to Parents/Guardians: We will no longer be conducting Temperature Checks when children are dropped off for our Preschool and School-Age Y Academy Before School programs.
- As with members and children, it will be OPTIONAL for all staff regarding the wearing of masks. It is their personal choice.
We know this will be a difficult transition for many of us, and we ask for patience, cooperation, and acceptance of individual’s choices. We appreciate the effort all of our members, children, and families have put forth thus far to keep everyone as safe as possible. That remains our #1 Objective as we move forward to this next phase of this pandemic.
Please know that this is subject to change based upon future Maine CDC’s guidelines, discussions with YMCA’s in the State of Maine, and recommendations from our local healthcare providers.
Kindest Regards,
Diane Dickerson
CEO