The UW still requires all UW personnel and students to be vaccinated. This also applies to volunteers, vendors, and contractors working on-site at UW facilities, though the mechanism of verifying vaccination status differs for these populations. See UW HR’s guidance for more information.

Youth programs must convey to parents/families, youth and staff the responsibility to screen for symptoms at home and remain at home should any symptoms arise.

Youth programs must monitor for symptoms that arise during program time and take appropriate actions as outlined by DOH (p. 3) when this occurs.

If an individual in your program tests positive for COVID-19, you must report to the appropriate public health jurisdiction. Please take these steps even if the individual has already reported to public health themselves, since you, as program director, may have a role to play in notifying others of their potential exposure.

1. Report employee casesto the UW COVID-19 Response and Prevention Team at covidehc@uw.edu or (206) 616-3344.
2. Report youth participant casesto

• • the UW COVID-19 Response and Prevention Team at covidehc@uw.edu or (206) 616-3344, AND
  • the relevant county public health authorities:
    • Seattle and Bothell campuses: King County COVID-19 Call Center at (206) 477-3977.
    • Tacoma campus: Pierce County COVID-19 Call Center at (253) 798-6410.

3. Communicate to staff and families if and how guided to do so by public health. See directly below for guidance. Do not disclose any personal identifiers. 
4. Report all instances to OYPC at uwminors@uw.edu or by calling (206) 616-5706.

If a staff person, visitor or participant in your program reports symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19, families and participants must be notified as soon as possible. Details of notification requirements can be found in the DOH requirements (p. 4). Note that youth who are  immunocompromised, medically fragile, or otherwise at high risk for severe COVID-19 must be notified of any potential exposures to COVID-19. You may use the templates provided by DOH below to notify parents/guardians:

• Department of Health notification template: to parents/guardians of all participants regarding positive case within program
• Department of Health notification template: to parents/guardians of close contacts of positive case
• Other DOH notification templates may also be helpful

Do not disclose any personal identifiers. 

If a staff person reports symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19, follow EH&S guidance for notifying other staff in your program or in the immediate vicinity (e.g., same building or work space). Do not disclose any personal identifiers. 

• Programs may choose to follow exclusion protocols outlined by EH&S or that outlined by DOH. The major difference is that EH&S still differentiates exclusions based on vaccination status, while DOH guidance no longer makes such a distinction.
• UW personnel must follow UW EH&S  protocols.

Testing resources include:

• UW EH&S COVID-19 testing information (includes a list of locations to source tests)
• WA DOH Interim SARS-CoV-2 Self-Testing Guidance for K12 Schools and Child Care Providers
• WA COVID-19 testing locations 

Follow public health and EH&S guidance in all instances of COVID-19 clusters or outbreaks in your program community.

• UW led youth programs: Register your youth program event(s) in the Youth Program Registration System (YPRS) prior to its start date. As part of your registration in YPRS, you will be asked to certify that you will implement all required youth-specific COVID prevention protocols outlined in the DOH Guidance for Child Care and Youth Programs
• Third Party led youth programs hosted by UW: The UW hosting entity must register the youth program and include COVID-19 requirements outlined above in third party facility use agreements.

Programs may recommend that participating youth should be up to date with vaccinations. Programs shall not require vaccination as a condition of participation, nor check vaccination records of participants. 

• The university strongly recommends that masks remain in use by staff, parents and participants in all indoor settings.
• Programs may actively encourage mask use by participants but must allow families to make individual choices about their mask use preferences (i.e., whether to wear one or not).
• If a parent or guardian requests their youth participant be unmasked, the program must respect and follow that decision for the individual in question.
• In the event of case clusters or outbreaks programs should consult with health authorities (e.g. EH&S and public health) to determine any changes to current requirements.
• Resources:
  • UW Face covering policy
  • UW announcement about March 28 mask policy changes
  • “If you see someone wearing a mask…” poster

Screening testing is strongly encouraged in indoor high contact sports, some indoor performing arts settings and certain other higher risk activities (see p. 13 of DOH guidance). If you believe your setting has higher risk for transmission, contact  OYPC or EH&S to inquire whether the use of screening testing is appropriate.

Testing resources:

• UW EH&S COVID-19 testing information (includes a list of locations to source tests)
• WA DOH Interim SARS-CoV-2 Self-Testing Guidance for K12 Schools and Child Care Providers
• WA COVID-19 testing locations

Programs are encouraged to choose indoor locations with mechanical or natural ventilation, and take activities outdoors whenever possible.

When considering using portable air-conditioning units and fans, consult EH&S COVID-19 Ventilation FAQs. If the UW rooms you use appear to suffer from lack of ventilation (e.g., they become hot, stuffy or have stagnant air), contact your Facilities group for assistance.

• To the extent possible, programs are encouraged to minimize close contacts through physical distancing between participants and use of cohorting models.
• Resource: Sample letter outlining physically-distant check-in/out procedures [.docx]

• Programs are encouraged to promote frequent handwashing and respiratory etiquette (e.g., sneeze into elbow).
• Resources:
  • Sample parental consent for hand sanitizer use
  • Handwashing signs from WA DOH
  • CDC handwashing resources, including posters for kids and teens and handwashing as a family activity
  • EH&S’s Eating Space Guidelines for COVID-19 Prevention

• Programs are encouraged to clean and disinfect high touch surfaces at least once per day.  UW facilities are cleaned regularly.
• Resources:
  • EH&S COVID-19 cleaning and disinfecting protocols
  • COVID-19 disinfecting standards
  • Public Health – Seattle King County child care health team’s guidance on cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting (specific to child care settings)

Youth programs may not require youth participants to wear masks, except in certain circumstances (below). This aligns with the University of Washington’s masking policy, as well as county and state guidance. 

Youth programs may actively encourage participants to wear masks, especially in indoor settings and with groups of unvaccinated children, e.g., children between age 2-4, when participants are in close contact with each other, or for those who are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19  or who may live with individuals at increased risk.  However, programs must honor individual and family choices regarding mask wearing.

In the below circumstances (and only these circumstances), masks are required:

• during clusters or outbreaks of COVID-19 and based on advice of the UW COVID-19 Response and Prevention Team and/or county public health department;
• healthcare settings, including nurse’s offices;
• individuals showing or reporting symptoms of COVID-19 while in the program environment must wear a mask while waiting to leave the program or facility; and
• individuals returning from isolation following a positive case of COVID-19 must wear a mask on days 6-10 if they are not able to show evidence of a negative test after day 5.

Yes! Use of a face covering is an important prevention step for reducing transmission. While youth programs cannot require face coverings, they can strongly encourage mask use in any communications with parents and guardians, and can actively encourage youth to wear them within the program. Youth programs may also assist youth with proper mask use, and suggest adjustments when they are not covering their face and mouth.

The University must honor a youth’s choice to either wear a mask or not. Exceptions to this would include when the youth is in a setting that requires masking, e.g., a health facility or field trip location where masking is required, or if a youth is showing symptoms of COVID-19. In all of these cases the program may enforce the requirements with all staff and participants. 

That is correct: youth programs may no longer require youth to be vaccinated in order to participate in programming. Programs should not collect information about youth participants’ vaccination status.

You will need to communicate the expectations to your participants. Be clear that the requirement is one of the specific host facility, rather than a general UW requirement. Ideally the host facility will handle verification of vaccination so your program does not need to collect or view this sensitive personal health information. If you must verify vaccination status, contact EH&S to ensure you are doing this properly.

Only in specific circumstances that pose a higher risk of COVID-19 transmission:

• close contact indoor sports (e.g., basketball, wrestling, water polo, indoor cheer)
• indoor performing arts settings, including theater/drama, choir, band, speech and debate
• overnight programs or those including shared accommodations.

The Office of the Youth Protection Coordinator and EH&S can provide recommendations on frequency of testing in these situations.

Outside of these circumstances, programs should not impose a testing requirement for youth participants. 

If a program requires youth to attend at an off-campus site for an activity that requires proof of vaccination, youth programs may pass along that requirement.

When collecting information from youth participants, it’s important to remember to not collect the information yourself and to use existing systems established at the intended location to collect vaccination information.

Additionally, programs must make it clear to parents and/or guardians why there will be a vaccine requirement and that there is a testing alternative to allow your youth to participate.