Submitted by webminister on Thu, 10/14/2021 - 01:09

Covid Policy Implmentation

Sean and Nisa, 47th Monarchs of Glorious Artemisia, and Catherine Anne of Newberry, our Kingdom Seneschal, send greetings throughout the lands.

The SCA Board of Directors has released a policy update related to response to the Covid-19 virus and ways in which we can move forward to safely returning to in-person events once again. This recent policy change is an option that has been made available to the Kingdoms. It is not a Society wide policy change. This is an option that each Kingdom is allowed to implement, or not, depending on each Kingdom's unique circumstances.

To sum up, this policy gives the Kingdoms the option to require proof of Covid vaccinations, or to provide Covid test results showing not detected for the virus within 72 hours of an event. The Crown of Artemisia and the Kingdom Seneschal, together, have decided that we will implement this policy in Artemisia as of our Crown Tourney being held in the Barony of Arn Hold on the weekend of October 16th. This policy will be in effect where permitted by law. Currently, state law in Montana does not permit us to implement this policy in that state. As such our previous mask mandate will remain in effect for events held in the state of Montana.

This is a decision that we feel is in the best interest of our Kingdom and allows us that best opportunity to get back to regularly scheduled events with minimal restrictions. Taking this small effort to minimize potential exposure to the virus will become increasingly important as we move into a season where many of our events will be taking place indoors. The implementation of this policy will supersede our previous mask mandate for events. We will no longer require the populace to wear a mask at events. However, we ask everyone to respect the desire of members of the populace who wish to continue wearing a mask for their increased safety.

We encourage you to read the policy in its entirety. The SCA Board of Directors will have an FAQ to address many of the questions that have already come up about how this policy is to be implemented.

We wish to make it very clear that this policy is non-negotiable. If you cannot, or will not, meet the guidelines laid out in this policy, we ask you to consider not coming to an event until you can, or will meet the requirements of having proof of vaccination or a negative covid test. The people sitting a gate, who are asked to verify your adherence to this policy are doing so on a volunteer basis and at the direction of the Crown and Kingdom Seneschal. We will not tolerate anyone coercing the event staff, in any way, into circumventing this policy. There is a very clear expectation here. We ask the populace to respect those expectations without any undue stress or influence upon the people who have been asked to administer this policy.

The policy presented by the Board of Directors can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/198712233590344/posts/4189888051139389/

If you have comments or concerns regarding the implementation of this policy within our Kingdom, you are welcome to send those to comments@artemisia.sca.org

As always, in service,

Sean Nisa

Rex Regina

Cathryn Anne

Kingdom Seneschal

Health and Safety Notice

Although the SCA complies with all applicable laws to ensure the health and safety of our event participants, we cannot eliminate the risk of exposure to infectious diseases during in-person events.  By participating in the in-person events of the SCA, you acknowledge and accept the potential risks.  You agree to take any additional steps to protect your own health and safety and those under your control as you believe to be necessary.