NSP Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement:
Adults: All current NSP staff members are fully vaccinated for Covid-19. Teachers, volunteers, and other attending adults must be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 in order to be present at Kollel. Fully vaccinated for adults means two shots plus booster for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and one shot plus booster for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Children: All eligible children must be fully vaccinated in order to attend Kollel. Fully vaccinated for children over five means two shots of either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, with boosters at recommended intervals.Younger siblings under 5 years old who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated are exempted from the vaccine requirement and may be present during class, both indoors and outdoors.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, vaccine eligibility, or should you require a medical exemption, please contact Rabbi Yosef (rabbi@newsynagogueproject.org).
NSP Covid-19 Event Protocols
We want programming to be available to as many congregants as possible, while maintaining our commitment to pikuach nefesh, safeguarding life, as a central value: “We hold that to save one member of our community is to save and preserve the entire community of NSP and beyond.” In pursuit of keeping each other as safe as possible, attendees to NSP in-person programming must adhere to the following safety guidelines.
1. NSP’s COVID-19 event protocols and guidelines may change as the circumstances of the pandemic (including daily positivity rates) change.
2. NSP’s outdoor masking policy states that masks are currently optional while outdoors. However, because children are generally less conscientious about social distancing, assessing other people’s comfort levels, and assessing risk, NSP Kollel may continue to require masks during class time. Acceptable face coverings include: 2-layer cotton, surgical, or KN95 masks without a vent; unacceptable face coverings include: gaiters, bandanas, or similar. Masks must cover the nose and mouth entirely and be on for the duration of the event (exception when eating or drinking, see below)
3. Participants may not attend if they currently have any common symptoms of Covid-19, including cough, sneezing, fever, chills, or nausea. Participants may not attend if they are waiting on the result of a Covid-19 test due to possible or confirmed exposure to Covid-19 or have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 in the last 14 days.
4. In regards to distancing, please be mindful that not everyone has the same risk tolerance, and some attendees will likely want to remain socially distanced. Please ask before hugging or standing in close proximity to other attendees and when possible, maintain distance from others not in your pod.
Generally, we will not cancel Kollel’s in-person, outdoor classes after positive cases, except in cases with extenuating circumstances. We acknowledge that while outdoors and masked, the risk of transmission is very low. Extenuating circumstances (for both cancellations and procedural changes) might include:
1. Higher local positivity rates or a “surge.”
2. Multiple children in one cohort testing positive.
3. Significant exposure/positive test results for Liora, or an adult who interacts with all or most of the children.
4. Indications that a variant is highly contagious outdoors, etc. (AKA, science updates.)