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COVID-19 Protocols

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Health & Safety

Medical Care.  There is a First Aid station located on the upper level of the Allen Building, behind Anderson Auditorium. A healthcare professional is on duty Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-1:00 PM and 1:30-4:30 PM. Emergency: Please call 911. There are walk-in clinics and doctors’ offices in Black Mountain. The nearest ER is in Asheville, approximately 20 minutes away.

COVID. If you test positive for Covid while attending the conference, please follow the CDC’s current guidelines which is to stay home and away from others if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren't better explained by another cause. You can resume normal activities once your symptoms are improving and you’ve been fever-free—without the aid of fever-reducing medications—for at least 24 hours.

For the five days after you resume your normal activities, you should take extra precautions, like wearing a well-fitting mask and maintaining distance from others, gathering outdoors or in well-ventilated areas, cleaning hands and high-touch surfaces often, and testing when possible before gathering with others. If symptoms or fever return, you should start back at square one: staying home and away from others until you’ve been improving and fever-free for at least 24 hours.

Updated September 1, 2023

PAM is committed to hosting a safe conference. Health and safety are our top priorities as we look forward to gathering together in June. Information changes and the protocols will be re-evaluated and updated on this page regularly.

We will implement the following safety measures during the conference:

  • Masks are optional in Montreat and in Buncombe County.

  • Back rows of choirs will be reserved for those who choose to mask. 

  • There will be a masked section in Anderson Auditorium for those who wish to remain masked and near ventilated areas.

  • If you test positive for Covid while attending the conference, notify the PAM Office via text at 828-275-7362. Participants who test positive for Covid while attending the conference are required to refrain from participating in the remainder of the conference and are encouraged to return home.

Personal responsibilities we ask of you:

  • If you feel sick, please isolate or stay home and test.

  • Monitor symptoms.

  • Optional: at home testing before arriving at the conference.

  • Personal Hygiene:

    • Handwashing

    • Coughing etiquette

    • Avoid touching face

  • Notify the PAM Office via text at 828-275-7362 if you or a child or youth in your group tests positive for Covid while at the conference. Persons who test positive are required to refrain from participating in the remainder of the conference and are encouraged to return home.

A note about mitigation strategies: We strongly encourage you to think about your response should someone in your group become ill. Some questions to consider:

  • If someone in your group shows symptoms, where will they seek testing?

  • How will the tested individual(s) be isolated given your housing layout?

  • As we are hosting minors, what happens if your adult chaperones/leaders become sick and have to isolate?

  • What will you do if you have multiple cases within a group? How do you keep the well and sick apart and get them through the week/back home safely?

We will have a reference sheet on hand for local urgent care centers as well as suggested outdoor and spaced activities for groups needing to quarantine, but we advise you to create plans for your specific group size and context.

The Montreat Conference Center Guidelines

Masking while staying in our facilities or attending one of our conferences is welcome but not required. We ask that you/members of your group please delay your visit to another time if you are sick, have symptoms, or have recently been exposed to COVID-19.

 

Testing prior to your arrival, as well as packing tests for your trip to Montreat, are both strongly encouraged. If you or a member of your group develop symptoms while on-site, we ask that you test promptly and take necessary precautions, including masking, to keep you and guests safe and well.

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