Still Wearing Masks
In the fall of 2021, the City of San Francisco issued guidelines that permitted stable cohorts of fully vaccinated adults to remove their masks in settings like gyms. At that time, Circus Center announced that we would remain a fully masked facility because we serve many children and our coaches frequently cross over between adult and youth populations. The city's loosening of the mask mandate was short-lived, though. Because of the rise of the Omicron variant, San Francisco reimposed the mask mandate for gyms and other spaces, whether they had stable cohorts or not.
Today, February 1, 2022, the city has once again relaxed the mask rules, and is permitting businesses like ours to allow stable cohorts of fully vaccinated adults to remove their masks. Circus Center's situation, however, is the same as it was back in the fall: we still serve many children, including kids under 12 who are encouraged but not required by law to be vaccinated to enter our facility. And our coaches still cross over between adult and youth populations all the time. SO, at this time, we will continue to require masks at all times in our facility. We know this is not easy for you, and we don't love it either, but it's the responsible thing to do to keep our entire community safe.
"Vaccinated" Definitions Are Changing
As we expected, the definition of what the City means by "vaccinated" is changing. As of now, we are only required to make sure that all patrons ages 12+ have received the initial two-shot course (or single shot, in the case of the J&J vaccine). They call this "Fully Vaccinated." However, in order to participate in current/future loosening of the mask mandate or other restrictions, Circus Center will need to go a step further and ensure that all patrons 12+ have also gotten a booster shot. This is now called "Up-to-Date on Vaccination."
So our current requirements for entry have not changed, but please go ahead and 1) get your booster shot, and 2) show proof of your booster to our Front Desk team, either by emailing a photo to info@circuscenter.org or stopping by the Front Desk the next time you are in the building. The more students we can get on record as being "Up-to-Date on Vaccination," the easier our transition to mask removal will be when that time comes.
Patience and Gratitude
We understand that this is (yet another) frustrating time for almost everyone. Some of us are still really nervous about gathering amidst the barely-waning Omicron surge. Some of us are annoyed by the continued need to wear masks while training. Some of us feel both things simultaneously! Thank you all for your patience and understanding, as Circus Center tries our best to protect our entire community AND stay open.