May 14, 2021


The following message is from the Pandemic Response Team:


Masks, Social Distancing, and Disinfecting in Light of the new CDC Guidance and the State of Massachusetts Response
 
Regarding Masks and Social Distancing
 
As most of you are aware, yesterday the Centers for Disease Control issued a statement that in many settings fully vaccinated people can now go about their days not wearing masks and not social distancing.
 
As you are also no doubt aware, Governor Baker has stated that, like some other states, Massachusetts will not be lifting the masking and distancing mandates immediately.
 
This is probably a disappointment to some, and probably a relief to others.
 
We will continue to monitor the State mandates closely, and as soon as there is a change, we will adjust our archdiocesan protocols accordingly.
 
For this weekend, we are not making any changes, with one exception - please see the note below about disinfecting surfaces.
 
It is certainly appropriate to begin discussions with your parish leadership. Here are some talking points:

  1. In all cases no one wants parishes asking people for proof of vaccination. We will have to rely on the honor system.
  2. In most communities up to a third of adults may still not be fully vaccinated - in many communities it will be far more.
  3. There will be adults who are not able to be vaccinated, and there will be adults who are not interested in being vaccinated. No category should be mocked or disrespected in any way.
  4. No child under twelve has been vaccinated.
  5. For many months, or perhaps longer, there will be people who are not comfortable sitting close to others without masks, even if they have been vaccinated.
  6. The dispensation from Sunday Mass has not been lifted yet.
  7. In many of our parishes we have built a capacity to broadcast our Masses. Since there will still be many people who are not ready to return, that should probably continue.
  8. Many of our parishes still have Masses outside. You should strongly consider continuing that, at least for a time.
  9. So, given these realities, when the State of Massachusetts adopts the CDC recommendations, what should your parish do? How should the church be set up for Mass? Will you have one side for maskless, close seating, and the other side for masked, socially distant seating? How will you communicate all of this to the people? What will you do about families since children cannot yet be vaccinated? There will likely be archdiocesan guidelines for some of these things, but it is also likely that each parish will have to adapt to the situation in their own setting, and it is certainly not too early to begin discussing what that will look like.
 
Regarding Disinfecting Surfaces
 
With regard to cleaning the churches with disinfectant, parishes are now only required to clean the churches once a day. Parishes with more than one Mass in a day are not required to clean the church between each Mass.
 
If a parish has a report of someone having attended the church who then tests positive for COVID, they are still required to deep clean.
 
Any questions can be directed to corona@rcab.org
 


PDF of this message, click here.