Mekor Safety & Health Guidelines
for Shabbat & Weekday Morning Minyan
Updated 10/14/20

​These Guidelines are applicable to Shabbat morning services, as well as all routine Weekday Morning Minyan services.  They include policies established by our building management.
If you have any questions, please email the shul.  These Guidelines are vitally important, and we are trusting that you will cooperate in order to protect the well-being of everyone in our community.  Thank you for your cooperation and patience.
 
Attendees

• RSVP for Shabbat morning services:  In order to attend, please email the shul to register by Thursday at 9pm.   We will acknowledge your RSVP and let you know if we’ve exceeded our attendance cap of 35.  Please RSVP only if you are certain of attendance (barring an emergency), because you would be taking spots away from other people
• RSVP for other Weekday Minyan services:  In order to attend, please email the shul to register by 9pm the previous day.  If fewer than 10 men rsvp, we will not hold services the following morning. We will establish a procedure to notify you if you sign up but services won’t be held.
• No children under 13 are permitted, except for infants & young toddlers who remain in strollers or are held by parent. Please note that infants & toddlers are not permitted to move about, even if they hold your hand.  They must remain in the stroller or in your arms.
• Do not attend if you have experienced symptoms of Covid-19, or you have been exposed to someone with symptoms, unless you’ve exceeded the 14-day quarantine period following symptoms or exposure.
• By attending, you agree to report to Rabbi Hirsch if you subsequently test positive for Covid-19 and to specify when you’ve attended our services.  We are required by building management to inform them (without use of names), and it is also our responsibility to inform other attendees that an anonymous attendee has contracted Covid.
• Please bring your own siddur if possible.  Procedure for using shul siddurim is described below.

 
Building Rules for Common Areas

• No one may enter the building without wearing a face mask
• Social distancing is required in lobby and in stairwells; if too many people occupy the lobby to keep 6 feet distance, some will need to wait outside.
• Elevators – maximum 2 people at a time in elevator; stairwells will also be open.
• Please bring tissues, toothpick, or other means to push elevator button without directly touching.
• Only one person at a time is permitted in restroom; the restrooms may now be locked from the inside.

 
Additional Safety Guidelines Inside Shul​

• Face masks are required at all times.  Disposable masks will be available at shul, in case yours becomes damaged.
• In shul – during services, maintain 6 feet distancing at all times.  Please try to do the same when you are socializing before or after services.
• Kitchen use is strictly off limits, except for the purpose of washing hands.
• Hand sanitizer, Chlorox wipes, and disinfectant spray will be available at shul.
• Water cooler dispenser – please use tissue or other means, or use hand sanitizer before operating the lever.
• Only one person will be designated each day to handle Torah and ark (when relevant).
• Kippot and tallitot will not be available for general use.
• Siddurim – as suggested above, it is best to bring your own.  However, if you’d like to use the shul’s, please do not return it to the bookcase after services.  Instead, deposit the siddur in a box in the shul’s entrance hall.