COVID-19 Response & Action Plan.

Posted on March 18, 2020.

November 17, 2020 

Due to increasing number of positive Cases of COVID-19 in the State of Colorado and Jefferson County. Youth With a Mission Denver is moving forward in caution for the remainder  of our Fall 2020 Quarter. 

Effective Immediately 

All community events have been cancelled. All meetings of groups larger than 10 are suspended until further notice. Including all school activities, and kingdom nights.  YWAM Denver is currently closed to all guests and all future events i.e graduation, end of quarter celebration, and all special events.

Individuals showing symptoms of any kind are moved into a specific quarantine room, symptoms lasting for more than 5 days will result in receiving a COVID-19 test, following the test individuals will remain in quarantine until a negative test is returned or they have completed the recommended time of isolation. 

Students have been asked to not leave the base for the unnecessary trips, to consolidate and intentionally leave the base for short grocery trips.

All individuals are required to wear a mask at all times:

• • • • While moving through buildings
      • While inside any buildings.
      • While preparing food.
      • During food service (servers and diners)
      • In offices where social distancing cannot be maintained
      • In all training or meeting settings
      • No more than 8-people per table.

July 20, 2020

June 19, 2020

YWAM Denver opened its doors to staff on June 1st following the required guidelines from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. As of June 11, Jefferson County moved into Level 3: Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors. Our staff have been screened and monitored for any symptoms of COVID-19 and we have no suspicion of cases. As a community, we established a number of new protocols to prevent any possible spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses.

Community Response:

Preventive Measure :

• All staff and short-term staff will have their temperature checked on Monday mornings at 9am.
• Guest speakers will also be required to participate in health screenings.
• Dorm rooms at half-capacity
  • Increased size of custodial team, and frequency of disinfecting of all common areas  and surfaces.
  • Additional hand washing stations and hand sanitizers.

Worship Times:

• Community worship times are closed to the public at this time.
• We will continue to livestream worship events on Facebook.
• Encouraged to continue social distancing during base gatherings.

Kitchen:

• Moved to service line model
• Masks and gloves required at all times.
• Please watch this video to learn our new way of protecting our community: bit.ly/kitchencovid

For additional information about Jefferson County’s requirements visit here; https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/22173/Jefferson-County-Variance-One-Pager?bidId=

and here https://www.lifewithcovid-19.org/

May 12, 2020

YWAM Denver continues to follow state and federal recommendations regarding the outbreak of COVID-19.

As of now, university campuses remain closed in Colorado, so we are suspending the scheduled Summer DTS program.

We expect the Fall quarter to begin September 28th and are continuing to accept applications to all schools.

Our mission to reach the world with the Good News of the Gospel continues through our full-time staff,

supporting the local needs of our city and providing online Christian content for those unable to join us at this time.

Short-term Summer Staff positions are open.

Pre-requisite:  DTS completion

Please contact us if you are able to work from June 15 – September 15 in vital roles throughout our ministry.

March 2020

As of Monday, March 16th, we have decided to suspend the planned Discipleship Training School outreach to Panama. We are currently working with students to plan and provide an outreach at a later date. All Winter (January) Schools will graduate on March 20th, 2020. All community gatherings including, worship, staff meeting, and events, have been canceled indefinitely. The bridge cafe is closed indefinitely.

YWAM Denver continues to follow state and national recommendations regarding the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). As of now, our county, Jefferson County, has reported 440 cases. We have no known reported cases on our campus. In the light of the rapidly changing nature of the coronavirus and our commitment to preserving the safety of both our campus and our Denver community, we will continuously evaluate the situation.

We have established a COVID-19 task team to address our campus needs, mitigate risk, and establish a protocol for YWAM Denver’s response to the spread of the COVID-19 disease. The team has been working hard to protect our staff, students, and volunteers from COVID-19 as much as possible. Working with Jefferson County Public Health, we have updated our Response Plan and set up protocols to best protect our YWAM Denver community. 

What actions are we taking?

• Encouraging all of our staff to follow health care guidelines. 
• Updated our food service procedures.
• Increased cleaning and daily sanitation of public surfaces.
• Postponed planned outreach teams. 
• Campus has been closed to all guests. 
• We reserve a prepared and dedicated space on-site and off-site that can act as a quarantine site in contingency that a case occurs inside of our community. 
• Constant contact with appropriate parties and keeping up to date information as much as possible. Appropriate parties include: Jefferson County Public Health,  and following the guidance from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization. 
• Ongoing protocols created for those coming to our campus from at risk nations.  
• We have updated our FAQ page to answer some more questions. These guidelines are put into place to protect the community per recommendations by Jefferson County Public Health. 
• YWAM Denver is following the recommendations of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), which is coordinating Colorado’s response to this rapidly evolving situation.

Please continue to be interceding on behalf of the situation, our campus, and our nation. May we join in seeking the Father’s wisdom and peace as we navigate this together. 

Blessings, 

Peter & Linda Warren 

Youth With a Mission Denver Directors

 

FAQ:

What is the threat status of COVID-19 at YWAM Denver? 

• YWAM Denver is actively monitoring the situation. 
• There are no reported cases among the students and staff. 
• As of 04/03/2020, Jefferson County Public Health has reported only 440 confirmed cases.

What are YWAM Denver’s current actions to protect the health of our community? 

• A protocol for incoming guests from high-risk areas is in place.
• Updated our food service procedures.
• Increased cleaning and daily sanitation of public surfaces.
• Rerouting upcoming outreach teams to less-risk locations. 
• Evaluating future programs and events risk-level. 
• YWAM Denver’s leadership Team is closely monitoring the evolving situation and to lead our campus in ways to respond. We will continue to collaborate with local authorities, other YWAM campuses, and affiliates. 
• We are working closely with Jefferson County Public Health and Colorado health authorities and following the guidance from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization. 
• We will comply with all legal mandates.
• We reserve a prepared and dedicated space on-site and off-site that can act as a quarantine site in the contingency that a case occurs inside of our community. 

Contact information

• Parents/family of Students: Andrew Harrison at (303) 877-4504 or Cailyn Vargas at (206) 854-4442 or email us at admissions@ywamdenver.org 
• General Inquiry: (303) 424 1144 or mediarelations@ywamdenver.org 

 

What do arriving students, staff, and visitors need to know?

All arriving students, staff, and visitors should be taking precautions for cough and hand hygiene. They should be aware of their personal health and practicing social distancing. 

What should I do? 

• Keep cough and hand hygiene etiquette: Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If no soap is available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and completely cover hands, rubbing hands until the alcohol is dry. Cover your nose and mouth when you cough. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. 
• Commit to social distancing practices encouraged by health care professionals. 
• Remain alert to any cold-like symptoms. If you are experiencing these symptoms, please work from home until you can determine that
  • 1) it is not COVID-19 
  • 2) you have entirely recovered from your symptoms.
• If you are experiencing any of the symptoms (cough, fever, shortness of breath), please stay at home. Your first call is to Jefferson County Health Department 303-389-1687, your second to your primary care physician, and your third to the Information Coordinator (Cailyn) at (206) 854-4442
•  
• We are also recommending, per Health and Safety, for our staff and students to stay away from gatherings of people of 250 or more. This will reduce the likelihood of spreading the virus and will keep us all safe.

What should I do for prevention? 

• • Keep cough and hand hygiene etiquette. 
  • Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Stay home if you feel ill.
  • Never visit a hospital or long-term care facility if you have a fever or cough illness.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

• Fever over 100.4F, cough, and shortness of breath are the three most common. 
• Less common are body aches, fatigue, and sore throat. 
• Many children and young people may have no symptoms at all.
• Many respiratory viruses and the flu can give you the symptoms.

YWAM Denver requires that all of those traveling from high-risk nations: 

Prior to Arrival:

• Self-monitoring for fever twice a day, morning and evening 14 days prior to arrival in the United States. Mandatory reporting of these numbers to YWAM Denver. These will be recorded along with name, date, etc.
• If at all possible by law of the country of origin, get tested for COVID-19, 3-7 days before departure, and send the official test results to YWAM Denver before departure. They must be negative for COVID-19 to come.

AFTER Arrival to the US from risk regions:

• Arriving students and participants will continue to self-test for fever 2 times a day, morning and evening 14 days prior to departure, and reporting these numbers to YWAM Denver. These will be recorded along with name, date, etc.
• Once they have arrived in the United States they will go straight to a quarantined location off-site (off YWAM Denver Campus site) for 14 days.
• Off-site quarantine location will have the capability of creating a separate secondary quarantine room in the contingency that a COVID-19 case occurs within the Off-site Quarantine house so that a secondary quarantine measure within the house can happen and no more people will be exposed. The original members of the initial quarantine can continue to quarantine without further exposing others.