Effective today, April 5, the Mayflower Council is amending our recommendation for carpooling to and from Scouting events to be as follows:

The Mayflower Council still believes that transportation to and from activities should be made within family units and carpooling should be discouraged.

Should a unit decide to permit carpooling to and from Scouting activities, the following best practices are recommended, based on guidelines from the CDC and Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

  • Youth protection guidelines must always be followed.
  • Any youth who will be traveling in a vehicle with multiple individuals must have their parent’s/guardian’s written permission. Any adult who will be traveling in a vehicle with multiple individuals – including the driver – must give their consent.
  • Each passenger in the vehicle must wear a mask covering their nose and mouth at all times while inside the vehicle. Cover coughs and sneezes. When outside of the vehicle, individuals should maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from one another.
  • To increase air circulation, it is best to open windows or set the air ventilation/air conditioning on non-recirculation mode.
  • Occupants should refrain from eating or drinking while in the vehicle to ensure mask use at all times. Plan to eat and drink outside of the vehicle when you are not near other people.
  • Occupants should stay in the same group/vehicle for all portions of the trip, including return trip.
  • For trips longer than 1 hour, every effort should be made to leave open seats between second (and third) row passengers.
  • Use proper hand hygiene. Hands should be washed before and after the trip. Hand sanitizer should be used where proper hand washing is not possible.
  • High touch areas inside and outside of the vehicle (door handles, seat belts, etc.) should be disinfected before and after each trip.
  • Unit leaders should maintain a list of passengers in each vehicle for at least 30 days after a trip, to facilitate contact tracing.

All previously announced COVID-19 restrictions continue to be in effect. For the most up to date council guidance refer to www.mayflowerbsa.org/covid-19.