Corona Virus (Covid-19) Updated 2/28/22

Public Service Announcement Corona Virus (Covid-19)

COVID MASK MANDATE UPDATES STARTING ON FEBRUARY 28, 2022

Starting on Monday, February 28th, with the State of Illinois lifting the state’s mask mandate, the Genoa Park District will adopt their new guidelines while being cognizant that additional information and/or restrictions may also be issued. The new guidelines that are in effect include:

-Masks will no longer will be required in all indoor Park District facilities, programs and office areas.

-For our programs that are held in the Genoa-Kingston Schools, we will follow their guidelines which is currently masks are recommended, but not required.

-The only current program that we will require students and staff to wear masks is for our Pre-School Program which our Insurance carrier feels falls under the Day Care Settings in the State Mandate.

The Park District is still recommending that patrons continue to wear masks in all indoor programs and facilities and we ask that you have kindness and respect for people who may or may not choose to wear a mask. If the situation arises where we will need to transport patrons, those patrons and staff will be required to wear masks.

We will continue to monitor any new covid-19 mandates or regulations put out by Federal, State or Local regulating agencies and notify you if we have to make any further changes.

Mask Update 6/4/21

Genoa Park District Covid/Mask Wearing Policy:

Based on the Governor’s new Executive Order, updated state guidance for the Bridge Phase of the Restore Illinois Plan and updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Genoa Park District is updating its policies regarding face masks and social distancing.  These rules are effective starting immediately and are subject to change as the State and CDC continues to issue additional guidance.

Under the current guidelines, only those that are fully vaccinated are no longer to wear facial coverings for many activities and using facilities.  You are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the administration of the final course of your vaccine-in other words, 14 days after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or 14 days after administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

BY ENTERING GENOA PARK DISTRICT SPACES WITHOUT A FACE COVERING, YOU ARE VERIFYING THRUTHFULLY THAT YOU HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED.

The Genoa Park District still encourages all patrons to continue use facial coverings indoors as well as outdoors during activities and when social distancing of at least 6 feet is not practical.  Regardless of vaccination status, please refrain from coming onto any Park District property when you have signs or symptoms of COVID, including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea.

Face coverings and social distancing are still required when:

–An Individual is not fully vaccinated.
-For all Children ages 2-11.
-Inside our facilities where participants are not eligible to be vaccinated like pre-school, Kid Zone and summer day camp area.
– Otherwise directed by Genoa Park District personnel.

Pool:

Masks will be required:

– For An Individual is not fully vaccinated.
-For all Children ages 2-11.
-Inside our facilities where participants are not eligible to be vaccinated like pre-school, Kid Zone and summer day camp area- Otherwise directed by Genoa Park District personnel

Masks are not required while in pool water

Monday, January 25, 2021.  Region one has moved to Phase 4.

Illinois Phase 4 Guidelines

Monday, January 18, 2021

We have moved back to Tier 1 of Illinois’ Phase 4 plan.

Facilities-Rentals are allowed, with a max of no more than 25 people.
Parks and Playground-Continue to be open.  Please social distant, keep 6′ apart.
Fitness Center is following Phase 4 guidelines.  Please call 815/784-3488 for all questions.

Friday, January 15, 2021

Thursday, November 19, 2020

As we move through the State’s Restore Illinois plan to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Genoa Park District has made the following adaptations to facilities and services for the health of our community. For additional information or questions, staff may be reached at 815/784-5612 or by email at info@genoaparkdistrict.com. Also, following the Genoa Park District on Facebook is a good way to stay connected.

Facilities

Facility Rentals

Shelter and facility rentals are not available at this time.

Fitness Center

Parks

Outdoor parks and trails remain open with regular upkeep and mowing. Please take care when visiting parks and using trails:

• Genoa Park District playgrounds are open.
• Please use your best judgment to keep group sizes at 10 people or less.
• Remember to practice 6-foot distancing from others, not in your household, and sanitize your hands often.
• Drinking fountains are turned off so please plan to bring water when you visit the parks Restroom buildings are closed.
• Follow CDC’s guidance on personal hygiene prior to heading to public parks/trails: Wash hands, carry hand sanitizer, do not use trails if you have symptoms, cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, etc.
• If using a trail, warn other trail users of your presence and as you pass to allow proper distance and step off trails to allow others to pass, keeping minimum recommended distances at all times. Signal your presence with your voice, bell or horn.
• Bring a suitable trash bag. Leave no trash, take everything out to protect park workers.

Sports Fields

All baseball, softball, and soccer fields at Chamberlain Park are available to use for informal practices and recreation only on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please note that fields are not being prepped for gameplay. Port-a-potties are not available at this time. Fields are not being reserved or prepared for games or practices.

Group sizes must be kept to 10 people or less. Remember to practice 6-foot distancing from others, not in your household, and sanitize your hands often. Drinking fountains are turned off for the season. Plan to bring water when you visit the parks.

Programs and Events

Programs will be adapted or offered virtually whenever possible to coincide with the State’s current COVID-19 mitigation guidelines.

If an indoor class or event cannot be feasibility adapted to meet the new guidelines, it will be canceled. Participants enrolled in active classes will be notified soon.

Outdoor programs with group size less than 10 will continue by advance registration only.

Karate has been paused until further notice.

Resources

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Restore Illinois Plan

CDC (Center for Disease Control) Website

IDPH (Illinois Department of Public Health) Website

Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations

Executive Order 2020-73

Monday, June 29, 2020

With guidance from the State of Illinois and the Governor’s office that came out this weekend, we are now allowed to open all of the District’s Playgrounds, outdoor Fitness Stations and Skate Park. With the opening of these facilities, please read the following:

1. While these facilities will be open, they will not be sanitized so use cautiously at your own risk.

2. Please follow all State and CDC Guidelines which include:

-Stay home if you are sick

-Please practice Social Distancing and please maintain 6 ft

-If social distancing can not be maintained, please wear a mask or face covering.

-No groups of larger than 50.

-Wash/sanitize hands frequently

3. The Skate Park will open on Tuesday, June 30th.

Thank You for your patience and we are excited to be able to open these facilities for the community and please let us know if you have any questions.

Thursday, June 25, 2020
Like you, we are anxiously waiting to open the playgrounds for our community but we are awaiting an executive order from the Governor’s office regarding the reopening of playgrounds under the Phase 4 guidelines. Until then, playgrounds, skate park and fitness station equipment will remain closed as the state enters Phase 4 on June 26. The pool, however, will remain closed for the season. Keep following us here as we will keep you posted as we learn any new information.

Thursday, June 4, 2020
The office will resume normal office hours starting June 15. We are in and out of the moment so you can try reaching us in the office. If you try calling and we don’t answer, you can still email all of us. Paul pbafia@genoaparks.com, Doug dougk@genoaparks.com, Sandir@genoaparkdistrict.com.

From the Fitness Center

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Tuesday May 19, 2020

It is with much regret that we announce the Genoa Park District will not be opening our swimming pool this summer. The Board of Directors made an informed decision based on the current guidelines established by the State of Illinois and in adherence with the 5 Phase Approach, as well as input from our Local County Health Department. Our decision was based on the following factors:

-Social Distancing: Social Distancing guidelines will remain in place through phase 4 of the Governor’s 5-phase plan. Social Distancing at a public swimming public pool will be almost impossible to achieve. During our meeting with the DeKalb County Health Department, they indicated the only way possible to meet Social Distancing guidelines was to have lap swimming only and then close every other lane which would be a max of 3 lap swimmers at a time in the pool. We would also have to close the pool every fourth hour to clean and sanitize.

-Lack of pool amenities: As mentioned earlier, we could only have lap swimming which means there would be no open swim, waterslides, deck furniture, baby pool, splash pad or concession stand.

-Sanitation Standards: Sanitation Standards related to public restrooms, lockers, locker rooms, showers, tables, lounge chairs, door handles etc., would be unachievable without greatly increasing staff levels and at the same time, reducing allowable patron levels.

-Financial: To operate a pool all summer with only 3 lap swimmers using it at a time is not a financially smart practice and the District would experience a financial loss in this scenario while not being able to accommodate more of our community residents.

-Safety: It would be difficult to train new lifeguards with being socially distant to learn new skills and you would need a pool to do onsite water skills. With our current situation there are no open pools for water skills to be taught.

– Refunds: For community members who have already purchased annual passes, we are in the process of issuing refunds. Please expect refunds to be mailed within 14 days.

However, if you would like to roll over your pool pass to next season, please notify us ASAP via email.

We are not alone with our decision as a majority of Park District’s have announced or will be shortly that their pools will not be opening as well due to the same issues as ours.

If you have any further questions, you can email us at info@genoaparkdistrict.com

Thank you for all your support. Stay healthy and safe. We’ll see you soon.

Paul Bafia
Executive Director

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Due to the Covid 19 Virus and the Governor’s Executive Order, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close the Skatepark and also the Fitness Stations that are located along the walking path at Chamberlain Park. While the Governor’s did not specifically mention Skatepark’s or outdoor fitness stations in his order, it did state Social Distancing of 6 feet and no more group’s of 10 in one setting. While he had hoped to be able to keep the ark open following the Governor’s guidelines, we have been monitoring the Skatepark since the order went into effect and unfortunately those guidelines have not been followed. Once all the order’s have been lifted and everything is deemed safe, we will open the park back up. The Fitness Stations being closed are due to the high amount of surface touching that is a easy way to obtain the virus.

Also, please remember that all Park District’s Playgrounds are also closed. Playgrounds were specifically listed in his order. For now all other outdoor elements will be open but they will be monitored. Certain features like athletic courts and fields can potentially be closed if the Social Distancing and groups of 10 are not being followed. We will keep the walking paths open. Again, if you are visiting the Park District outdoor facilities, please follow all required guidelines.

Thank You and Stay safe

Paul Bafia

Executive Director

Updated March 20, 2020 Fitness Center Closing-See Below

With the Governor’s Stay at Home Executive Order today, all Genoa Park District’s facilities, programs and even playgrounds are closed until April 7th. This includes the District office and fitness center. The order says that all of our outdoor features including trails, athletic fields, sport courts and open space can remain open.  Sadly all playground equipment has been closed. However,  I encourage you to take advantage of all of outdoor elements. The order also discusses social distancing of at least 6 feet and also no groups of 10 or more are not allowed. We will continue to monitor all the events as they become available and give updates as needed. We hope everyone stays safe during these turbulent times. Please see the link below on the Governor’s Executive Order.

Updated 3/19/20 With the continued threat of the COVID-19 virus, it is the responsibility of the Genoa Park District to keep all of our participants as safe as possible.  With the order by Governor Pritzker to close all State Schools until March 30^th, we will follow the lead of the State and be closing our Afterschool Program and Kreative Kids Preschool Program.  We will continue to follow the schedule of the Schools in Illinois and the Genoa-Kingston School District and those Childcare programs will remain closed until the State and local schools open back up.  To further ensure the safety of all participants, we will also be postponing until further notice, the following programs:

• Karate
• Spring Soccer
• Girls Volleyball
• Easter Egg Hunt

If and when we decide to resume these programs, we will notify the public by many different avenues including Facebook, Website, email or direct calls. At that time, the office will remain open.

This decision was not taken lightly, but were made with the Health and Safety of our residents and participants in mind.  We recommend that if you feel sick or have symptoms, remain home or seek medical advice and always practice good hygiene including washing your hands.  While we hated to postpone these programs, we still encourage you to use our outdoor parks while following the guidelines of the Health Officials including the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health and DeKalb County Health Department.

From our Fitness Center                     

Dear Genoa Fitness Center Community:     3/19/20

We have all been experiencing an unprecedented situation with the COVID-19 virus in our Country and in our State.  I hope this letter finds you Healthy and Safe.  As this situation has been unfolding daily, we at the Genoa Fitness Center have been watching and responding very proactively to keep our Community safe.  So many of our GFC Community have been asking us to remain available and open for them to be able to come in, relieve stress, and continue to maintain their health and keep immune systems strong.  We committed to do this ONLY if we felt confident that we could keep our facility clean, healthy and safe for all.  I cannot express the amount of respect and gratitude I have for my GFC Team that has worked with incredible dedication to do just that!

At this time and in response to the everchanging daily environment, we have decided to close the facility to face-to-face interaction.  Our last day of physical opening is today, Thursday March 19^th at 8:00pm.  We are expecting the physical closure to be until April 1^st.  We will also continue to monitor daily briefings.  Although we will not see each other physically, our Health & Fitness Initiatives have not changed for our GFC Community, and we will continue to support our Community in many other ways throughout this process!

In anticipation of this moment, our Team has been HARD at work behind the scenes coordinating at-home and virtual Support systems for our members and participants.  We will be sharing a full virtual support structure to all of our Community members in the coming days that will include the following and more:

• Full virtual Fitness Classes with our Instructors using at-home items and/or body weight exercises to perform multiple formats of classes.
• Educational seminars to further increase our knowledge about our bodies, nutrition, exercise, etc. to help us to be more successful in our personal health journey.
• Stress relief Yoga classes and educational information to help us beat the anxiety we are experiencing.
• New Genoa Fitness FITT Nation support groups where we can communicate with each other about what we did to take care of ourselves each day!
• A 14-day challenge format to set positive goals for ourselves to truly take advantage of this time and do things for yourself that we may not have had the time to do before.
• A full listing of ways to stay connected with our Community as well as updates regarding the GFC.

As we weather this situation together, we ask for support from our GFC Community to help ensure that the Genoa Fitness Center can survive this crisis now and in the future.  Our financial responsibilities for our facility are not going to stop, and our Team is still working behind the scenes to bring programs to our members, respond in real-time to the crisis, and perform normal business operations necessary.  We are humbly asking that our members continue to maintain their memberships during this time to enable our facility to financially weather this situation, support our efforts, and remain financially healthy for our future.  If you can, we truly appreciate this support as well as the dedication all of our members have had to our facility.  For over 12 years we have always reflected this same dedication to each and every one of our Members and Participants as well.

In Health, Fitness & Safety,

Holly Ber
Genoa Fitness Center Fitness & Facility Director