Temple Beth El in the Time of COVID-19

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In-Person Gatherings
Services
Live Streaming
COVID-19 Protocol in Detail
Protocol Rationale
Review of COVID-19 Protocols
Family Resources
 

COVID-19 Protocol—Summary

As of Sunday, March 13, 2022 Temple Beth El implemented a two-stage reopening plan based on the CDC Community Levels tool. The stages will be High/Medium and Low—this will allow us to phase out our vaccination and masking requirements while still enabling us to pivot quickly and resume more stringent protocol if the situation deteriorates. Please see below for detailed information on the protocol for each stage.

Changes for reducing our requirements and moving to a stage with fewer protocols and requirements will be made when Pierce County has moved to a new CDC community level. It is also important to note that if Pierce County moves to a higher CDC community level we will immediately move back to a stage with more protocols and requirements.

Our current stage and the attendant protocol will be displayed on the homepage of the website, at the top of this page, and will also be featured in the Shabbat Shalom every week. You may also call the office to check in about our current stage, or if you have any questions about protocol.

We highly recommend that you continue to wear a mask in order to protect those who have not been able to receive a vaccine or are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. We request that anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19, has been recently exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or has symptoms of COVID-19 to please stay home until you have recovered or tested negative. We also encourage everyone to stay up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccination and boosters. For more detailed information, see COVID-19 Protocol—In Detail.

 

In-Person Gatherings

Our doors are open for in-person gatherings—these include social gatherings, meetings, and education opportunities.

There will be a few requirements to ensure the safety and comfort level of everyone who would like to attend. The designated host of the meeting or gathering will be required to ensure that some basic protocols are followed based on Temple Beth El’s current stage.

The host or designated lead of the gathering/meeting will need to contact Olivia Goodwin at olivia@tbetacoma.org or (253) 564-7101 in the temple office to schedule the time in the calendar to ensure that we do not have any overlap in available spaces.

The host or designated lead will then receive instructions on how to proceed with the meeting. This will include:

• Checking in all attendees.
• Ensuring that all attendees are following any masking requirements (based on TBE’s current stage).
• Providing a virtual or remote option for attending if needed.
• Cleaning the space when finished.
• Following up with the office as needed.

If you have any questions, please contact the temple office.

Services

If you would still like to attend services online, check out our Live Streaming page for further instructions. Both Friday and Saturday services are multi-access (in person and online). Friday services are streamed via Facebook Live, YouTube, and the temple website. Saturday services and Torah study are available via this link: https://us02web.zoom./j/82902427314. 
 

Live Streaming

We will continue to live stream all services on Facebook, YouTube, and the temple website (Friday night), and Zoom (Saturday)—we invite you to participate in person or virtually. For information on live streaming, visit our Live Streaming Instructions page.

The most current information regarding events can be found in our most current Shabbat Shalom e-mail newsletter. If you would like to receive the weekly Shabbat Shalom or other online communications from Temple Beth El, subscribe here and select your preferences.

We will continue to update our website with information as it becomes available. Rabbi Keren Gorban (rabbigorban@tbetacoma.org) remains available for you to reach out to with any concerns, as well as for support and counseling.

COVID-19 Protocol—In Detail

We have established the following guidelines following the lead of the CDC and using their COVID-19 Community Levels measurement tool. To look up the current community level and to learn more about the new CDC Community Levels tool, please go here. We have established the following two stages of opening using the CDC's measure for community risk: High/Medium and Low.

Changes for reducing our requirements and moving to a stage with fewer protocols and requirements will be made when Pierce County has moved to a new CDC community level. It is also important to note that if Pierce County moves to a higher CDC community level we will immediately move back to a stage with more protocols and requirements.

What This Means for You—Our protocols are dependent on the current measure of cases and hospitalizations in Pierce County as measured through the CDC Community Levels tool. We will include the current Temple Beth El stage on the Temple Beth El homepage, the Current COVID-19 Protocol webpage, and in the weekly Shabbat Shalom email. You can also call the office to determine this information. You will need to know what stage we are in at Temple Beth El prior to attending. We will still be asking everyone to sign in in case we do need to inform you if an attendee later tests positive.

We are still asking anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19, has been recently exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or has symptoms of COVID-19 to please stay home until you have recovered or tested negative. If any of these last things are true, a good guide to determining what you should do can be found here: Quarantine or Isolate from TPCHD.

In the Low stage, we will not require that you wear a mask, but we highly recommend that you continue to wear a mask in order to protect those who have not been able to receive a vaccine or are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19.

Temple Beth El's Protocol Rationale

Our understanding of the virus and consequent recommendations on rules and protocol continues to shift, as do local conditions. As we move forward, the Resuming Operations Team will continue to monitor any changes offered by the State of Washington and/or federal and local health departments guidelines. The Resuming Operations Team will take the time to review any changes before making our own amendments to our protocol. We will always be asking ourselves the following questions before making any changes:

• Is it legal and safe based on national and local health guidelines?
• Can we create a policy that makes it work in our building for our community?
• Are we prepared to enforce that policy?
• Are we ready to go backwards if conditions worsen?
• Thank you to all for being patient as we continue working to make services accessible to all as safely and equitably as possible!

Review of COVID-19 Protocols

We understand that the situation is fluid—all the safety requirements for being in-person will only be in effect until they are no longer needed. These requirements will be re-evaluated by the Board of Trustees at least every three months.

The Resuming Operations Task Force:

Aaron Petersen, Olivia Goodwin, Val Carlin, and Jani Doctor

Again, we are very excited to continue opening our doors safely and to welcome our community back to our temple. If you have any questions, please contact the temple office at (253) 564-7101 or email info@tbetacoma.org.

Rabbi Keren Gorban

Greg Kleiner, Board President

Becca Motola-Barnes, Executive Director