Coronavirus Update
Dear HIOBS Community:
We’re back out on course again! Summer wilderness expeditionary courses are fully enrolled with students in the field, discovering the wonders and challenges of a HIOBS program in Maine. Our instructional teams and support staff are plying their craft as some of the best wilderness educators in the world, ensuring that this summer of Outward Bound challenge and adventure is done a safely as possible, and with life-changing outcomes.
HIOBS continues to follow the scientific guidance and emerging best practices when it comes to managing the potential of Covid-19 transmission on our courses. Our protocols around pre-course and on-course COVID testing, masking, and increased hygiene practices, and regarding the impact of vaccinations, have evolved along with the most recent federal and state CDC guidance. Please see our Program Protocols page for the most recent updates to the COVID mitigation strategies we are employing before and during our courses.
Last winter and spring, when vaccines started rolling out across the US, HIOBS began to highly recommend that all HIOBS students arrive for their course fully vaccinated in order to take total advantage of all that an Outward Bound course has to offer. Testing, masking, and social distancing have been proven to work as mitigation strategies in containing the spread of Covid-19. Getting vaccinated, on the other hand, is the solution to ending the pandemic and getting back to life (and Outward Bound) as we know it. Thankfully, the vast majority of our students are arriving at course start this summer fully vaccinated which allows us to take maximum advantage of the Outward Bound experience.
While we are not yet requiring a Covid-19 vaccination in order to participate in one of our summer courses, that is a waypoint on our horizon that we are navigating to. Starting September 1, 2021, all students on publicly enrolled courses will be required to be fully vaccinated for Covid-19. If you are currently enrolled or thinking about enrolling on a HIOBS expedition, please check in with your course advisor for the most current information on our Covid-19 protocols.
Please know that while HIOBS is making every effort to implement protocols that minimize the risk of transmissions, we cannot guarantee that COVID-19 will not be present on course, especially with the emergence of more transmissible variants in the US. This is an evolving situation and our practices may change as we gain new information or as recommendations change. HIOBS will decide when and under what conditions any course will operate using advice from medical experts and our best judgment.
Be safe, and take care of those around you. We can’t wait to see you on expedition!
Eric
Eric Denny
President and Executive Director
July 21st, 2021
THERE IS MORE IN US THAN WE KNOW. IF WE CAN BE MADE TO SEE IT, PERHAPS FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES WE WILL BE UNWILLING TO SETTLE FOR LESS.
MORE INFORMATION
For reliable information on the COVID-19 outbreak, please refer to the resources below:
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- John Hopkins COVID-19 hotspot map
If you have questions about specific international locations, please also see:
For information on our cancellation policies, please click here.
Members of the Press, please see the latest press release here.
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