Masks are now Optional at Braddock Street

Masks are now Optional at Braddock Street

While community transmission of Covid remains high in our community, according to the Center for Disease Control, our Healthy Church Team is making the wearing of masks optional in worship and small groups until further notice. This means that it is up to each of us as individuals to do what is safe for each of us, given our own health situation. As we move forward without this restriction:

·        Please feel free to mask or not to mask while in worship or small group settings. Do what is most comfortable for you.

·        We continue to encourage each of us to be fully vaccinated and boosted, as we are able.

·        Please remain home if you feel sick.

·        Please get tested if you have covid like symptoms, and isolate yourself if you test positive.

·        We still encourage keeping social distance.

·        We will still offer online worship experiences  for our 10 am and 11:15 am worship services through Facebook live and YouTube (recorded and available on our website).

·        We encourage groups to consider gathering outdoors when possible.

·        We will continue with an extended time between worship services, to allow for more ventilation.

These are some of the factors that went into this decision:

·        While community transmission is high, and hospitalizations are also high, these hospitalizations are by and large, unvaccinated patients. Even with unvaccinated patients, the mortality rate is extremely low. The last recorded Covid death in Winchester or Frederick County was March 2, 2022. 

·        The large majority of our congregation is heavily vaccinated.

·        National health centers estimate that 95% of the population may have had some covid exposure either through vaccine or natural pathways (50% vaccination rate and 140 million infections estimated).

·        Nearly all other community settings no longer require masks, so it is unclear that continuing to follow strict CDC guidance in our church will do much to hinder the spread of covid. These community settings include our schools and our hospital staff (when they are not in a patient setting).