Dear Scouters,
We have all been monitoring the rules in terms of the changing announcements. We fully anticipate that these will be amended again once the public schools open on the 15th of February 2021.
From the recent presidential announcement, there are few meaningful impacts on our current rules, and as such we have decided to hold on any amendment of the rules until after the schools open on the 15th of February, and we can see what more those relaxations permit us to do and take the best advantage of that.
However, arising from the statement and gazetted rules, there are some clarifications that we think you should be aware of in carrying on any face-to-face Scouting:
- Any Groups using parks or sports fields should ensure that the activity they are doing is visible as exercise and cannot be mistaken as a social gathering;
- The changed curfew hours (23:00 and ending at 04:00) allows us to now have longer activities, but please continue to respect the 3 D’s in those activities;
- Those of you looking to carry out Meerkats, Cubs or Scouts Owns, you can do so at faith-based institutions;
- We should be focusing on small scale meetings, and avoid unnecessary face-to-face meetings wherever possible;
- All units linked to schools as part of the school programme are permitted to operate once schools are open within the auspices of that specific school’s rules;
- It is clear to us that small “education-based” activities are permitted, but we need to warn Scouters that if a police officer instructs you to stop your activities, even after reviewing your safety plan, you should immediately stop and not contravene the direct instructions of a police officer;
- We also recommend to avoid playing games etc where they can be seen to being called a social activity.
In the meantime, be safe, keep your family safe and good Scouting.
Yours in Scouting,
Dr Brendon Hausberger
Chief Scout
SCOUTS South Africa
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