NBCDS COVID Policy

Status of Current Protocols: 

At our November 21, 2024 quarterly meeting, the NBCDS Board of Directors voted to retain our Covid-19 policy without changes: Masks are optional for all participants including dancers. However, dance manager/programmer teams have the prerogative to set stricter protocols for their dance series and events. NBCDS strongly encourages vaccination and current boosters. We remind people to refrain from attending events when they feel ill. We will continue to gather contact information at sign-in and ask participants to alert the organizer of any positive COVID-19 cases that emerge within a week of the event. To track trends and assess relative health risks, the NBCDS Board and dance managers consult community wastewater viral load measurements for cities near our dances: Napa, San Rafael, Novato (closest to Petaluma), and Santa Rosa. (Viewing the 24-month chart may provide more context than the 3-month view that loads initially at those links.)

Detailed NBCDS COVID-19 Safety Policy

The NBCDS Board adopted this policy on 6/2/22. The most recent review occurred on 11/21/24, and the next review will be in February 2025.

To mitigate the risk of transmitting COVID-19 and other illnesses at our events, NBCDS will implement the following protocols:

Attendance expectations

  • Participants agree to not attend events if they are feeling ill.
  • Participants agree to notify the NBCDS dance manager or Board president if they test positive for COVID-19 within five days after attending that dance. NBCDS will inform participants if a positive case is reported but not disclose the identity of the infected person(s).
  • We strongly encourage members of our dance community to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and to stay current with boosters. 

Masking

  • Unless the management team for a specific series opts for stricter protocols, masking for all participants is optional. Food and drink may be served and consumed inside the hall.

Testing

  • For special events such as dance weekends, dancers, callers, and musicians may be required to test less than 6 hours before attending a dance event. An individually-administered rapid test is sufficient. Dancers must bring evidence (photo) of the negative test to the dance.

Assessing Level of Risk

  • Wastewater reports of viral load trends collected by municipal wastewater treatment plants are published at WasteWaterSCAN for the following cities near our dances: Napa, San Rafael, Novato
  • (closest to Petaluma), and Santa Rosa. If the Safety Committee observes a significant and/or sustained trend, we may alert the Board to consider implementing stricter protocols.

Communicating with the NBCDS Community

The most current NBCDS COVID-19 Safety Policy will be posted on our website. The Safety Policy will be reviewed by the Safety subcommittee (Jen Bamesberger, Craig Meltzner, Bonnie Richardson, and Tom Spittler) and revised or reconfirmed at each Quarterly Board Meeting.

The NBCDS Board adopted this policy on 6/2/22. The most recent review occurred on 8/24/24, and the next review will be in November 2024.