The Response Team which is made up of the Pastor, Moderator, Staff, and representatives of Diaconate, Trustees, and Safe Church have been meeting regularly since the beginning of the pandemic. We monitor trends in the progression of the virus thru various agencies such as the CDC, Southern New England UCC Conference, and Federal and State covid Safety Standards.
We are currently reviewing the information, forms, and protocols that we have been working on since the onset of the virus in March of 2020.
We, as a committee, will rejoice when we can again come safely together in fellowship. We will know that when we do open, we will have done our best to make the occasion safe and comfortable for everyone.
We must consider the infection rate of Westminster and the surrounding towns. Towns are given one of three infective rate categories. The information is updated weekly by the Mass Dept. Public Health. Red is high-risk, Orange is moderate risk and Yellow is low risk.
As of 19th of March, Westminster was in the Red (or hi-risk) Zone. It is recommended that we do not reopen unless we are in the Yellow Zone which is the least infective rate of the three categories.
Ventilation, at this point, is mostly dependent on opening the windows. This issue is being explored for more reliable alternatives.
Since the vaccine program is now going more smoothly, more people are taking advantage of it. As categories have opened, many on the committee are fully or partially vaccinated. We encourage you to do so, as well. The larger the percentage of vaccinated persons, the better chance of beating the virus. If you are on the fence because of reactions to the vaccine, you can be assured that the symptoms are mild if you have any at all.
We are meeting again in April-stay tuned for further updates.