Follow the resources developed by credible public health
sources such as CDC or Utah Public
Health department. Share these with girls, families, and
volunteers and ensure that they are practiced during meetings and
activities.
Navigate this section:
Guide
the Girls
Face Coverings
Food and Snacks
Craft
Supplies
Personal Contact
Singing
First Aid
Supplies
First Aid/CPR
Training
Disinfectants and
Disinfecting
FDA Warning
Restrooms
Guide the girls
Place signs in the
meeting or activity space to remind girls and volunteers to engage
in everyday preventive actions to help prevent the
spread of COVID-19. Signs should include:
- Stay home if you are sick.
- Cough and sneeze into a
tissue, throw the tissue in the trash, and wash or sanitize your
hands.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least
20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating;
and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and
water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least
60 percent alcohol. Did you know if you sing “Make New Friends”
three times that is 20 seconds?
- Avoid touching your eyes,
nose, and mouth. Wash hands if you do touch.
- Volunteers,
girls and parents should be reminded to make sure temperatures are
taken prior to group interaction to confirm the individual is not
running a fever and temperature is a normally 98.6 degrees. Members
with a fever or temperature higher than 100.4 F should skip the
in-person gathering until their temperature is normal. According to
the Mayo Clinic, a thermometer reading that
indicates a fever from your ear or forehead is generally 100.4 F or
higher, an oral temperature is 100 F or higher, and temperature
taken from your armpit would be 99 F or higher.
Back to Top
Face Coverings
In accordance with GSUSA
guidelines, all Girl Scouts (girls and adult volunteers) must wear
masks during in-person gatherings. This is mandatory, regardless
of what state mandate is in place or whether or not adults have
received the COVID vaccination (partial or full). Volunteers should
remind girls that Girl Scouts wear face coverings (masks) not only to
protect themselves but to protect others. Face coverings are a civic
responsibility and a sign of caring for the community. Girls can
bring their own face coverings. Have disposable masks on hand for
those who need them. Volunteers can teach girls how to handle their face coverings so that the
coverings are effective. Some girls or volunteers may not be able to
wear masks due to medical conditions such as asthma, which may be
restrictive. We recommend that you evaluate the situation with the
individual and/or their guardian. The troop should inform the families
so they are aware that there will be an individual that will be
participating without a mask due to a medical exception.
Back to Top
Food and Snacks (UPDATED 7-20-20)
In
this environment, we need to rethink how we do snacks. Of course,
healthy snacks are always important, but disinfecting an apple or
carrot sticks is a little more complicated in this new environment. Be
careful when handling and serving food; have girls be careful with
each other when eating. Safety recommendations for food, dining, and
snacks include:
- Encourage girls to bring their own foods to eat (bag lunch or
dinner).
- Encourage girls to NOT share their food after having
touched it, such as a bag of chips.
- Individually wrapped
items are recommended.
- If providing snacks, especially if
unwrapped, have one person, wearing gloves, hand out items to each
person, such as with cupcakes or cookies.
- Use a serving
spoon or scoop rather than reaching into a bag or bowl of
snacks.
- Public dining only as permitted in your local
jurisdiction.
- If serving family style, have one person,
wearing clean gloves, serve everyone on clean plates.
- Use
disposable plates, forks, napkins, etc. when possible.
- Encourage girls to bring foods they can easily cook themselves,
like a prepared foil pack or hotdog for outdoor cooking.
- Ensure everyone handling food, those serving, girls, and adults,
wash their hands (even if they will be wearing gloves) prior to any
food prep or meals, following CDC handwashing guidelines.
- If sharing outdoor cooking utensils (roasting forks), they
should be washed and sanitized between each use or you should bring
enough utensils so that each person gets their own.
- Continue the recommendation for 6-foot spacing during
meals.
Back to Top
Craft Supplies
What can you do minimize
contamination in your craft supplies? Could the girls each have
their own pair of scissors? Dollar Tree has girl size as well as
adult size scissors! Could you provide prewrapped kits for
projects? Many craft stores have prepackaged kits on a variety of
projects. Giving each girl her own set of supplies for a project
will minimize cross-contamination until you are able to
wipe/disinfect everything before the next meeting. Consider having a
tub or container to collect used items in for disinfecting before
throwing them back into the communal box, or better yet stay away
from communal supplies until COVID-19 passes. Have a box with
each girls' name on it and direct them to use only supplies from
their box. You can email a list of supplies to your parents and have
them send the girls to the meetings with their own box. See
disinfectants
for ideas on products
to use. Every little bit we can do will help to flatten the
curve. Consider having the girls wear gloves and have that bottle of
disinfecting wipes ready!
Back to Top
Personal contact
Hugs, handshakes,
“high-fives,” and even activities like the friendship circle or
squeeze can transmit COVID-19 from person to person. Refrain from
these gestures for the time being. Here is your chance to be creative
with your girls! Create a safe way for girls and volunteers to greet
and end meetings instead, like tapping elbows or sharing the Girl
Scout salute. Be sure to share what you came up with other leaders, we
are all looking for great ideas!
Back to Top
Singing
If you normally close your
meetings with a song, make certain girls and adults are all wearing
masks. Singing and shouting both project germs farther than talking.
Ask your girls to either hum their closing song, or sing quietly, with
their masks on.
Back to Top
First Aid Supplies
Troop first aid supplies
should include COVID-19 prevention items including hand sanitizer
(at least 60 percent alcohol), tissues, disposable facemasks, and
disinfectants. Trash baskets or bags should be supplied for meeting
and activity spaces, if not already available. Make sure that the
trash baskets (or bags) are easily accessible for girls. Disposable
or no-contact thermometers may be added to supplies if available and
not cost-prohibitive, however, parents should be checking
temperatures and allowing their girl(s) to join group activities
only when temperatures are normal.
Back to Top
First Aid/CPR Training
Keep your skills up-to-date
for any emergency. Talk to our council Training and Development
Coordinator about alternative methods of training that may be
available during this time.
Back to Top
Disinfectants and Disinfecting
Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that are
frequently touched (i.e., table tops, markers, scissors, etc.). Use a
household cleaner, or see the EPA’s list of effective cleaners approved for
use against COVID-19. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all
cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application
method and contact time, etc.).
Household bleach is effective against COVID-19 for up to 24 hours
when properly diluted. Check that the bleach is not expired and
determine if it can be used on a given surface. Follow the
manufacturer’s instructions for application and proper ventilation.
Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleanser.
To prepare a bleach solution, mix 5 tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach
per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water.
See the CDC’s website for more on cleaning and
disinfecting community facilities.
Back to Top
FDA Warning
The FDA advises consumers not
to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV in
Mexico due to the potential presence of methanol (wood alcohol), a
substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or
ingested. FDA has identified the following products manufactured by Eskbiochem:
- All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)
- Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC:
74589-008-04)
- Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC:
74589-006-01)
- The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer
(NDC: 74589-010-10)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand
Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC:
74589-009-01)
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80%
Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)
- Saniderm Advanced Hand
Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)
Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers and
should not be used due to its toxic effects. Stay completely away
from sanitizers containing methanol.
Consumers who have been
exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol should seek immediate
treatment, which is critical for potential reversal of toxic effects
of methanol poisoning.
Read all updates from the FDA about methanol in
hand sanitizer.
Back to Top
Restrooms
Be very careful in public
restrooms. Most public restrooms will regulate the number of people
using the restroom at the same time depending on the size. If there
is no regulator or signage, ensure girls take appropriate turns to
maintain social distancing and that they wear their masks in the
restrooms. While it is ideal that restrooms have automatic flushers
and sensory faucets for sinks, not all public restrooms are that
equipped. If these are not available, instruct the girls to get in
in the habit of using tissue or a paper towel to open doors and
latches and touch as little as possible. If the restroom is large,
have girls use every other stall and avoid using stalls with a
person in the stall next to them at the same time. Restrooms and
toilets are fraught with germs normally, and more so now considering
the contagion of coronavirus.
Back to Top
