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Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Situation / Oklahoma Events & Geocaches

Update June 25, 2021:  Effective immediately, all requirements related to COVID-19 for events are suspended.  However, statements / precautions may be added at the discretion of the event host or as required by the management of the event venue.

May 1, 2021:  Local mask mandates in Oklahoma's largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, ended on April 30 and May 1, respectively.  Mask requirements in other cities and towns may be different.

Therefore, the following requirement continues for all events.  Event hosts must contact the appropriate party responsible for the location of an event  to obtain permission for holding the event at that location and to determine if any special requirements, such as mask wearing, apply.  Approval of anticipated group size and event activities, including food offerings, must be obtained.  Examples of persons who should be contacted include, but are not limited to, the restaurant manager, if indoors, or city parks department head, if held outdoors.  Confirmation of this contact with the person responsible for the event location must be stated in a reviewer note when the new event is submitted for review.  Any special requirements for the event location must be listed on the event page.

For example, if masks are still required by the event location, then this must be clearly stated.  For example,

"The restaurant management requires that all attendees wear a mask covering the nose and mouth and the practicing of social distancing while inside the restaurant,"

OR

"The city of (city name) requires that all attendees wear a mask covering the nose and mouth and the practicing of social distancing while attending an event at this park."

The following statement must also be provided on the event page, as it remains unchanged by the lifting of city mask mandates:

"Please do not attend if you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (symptoms of COVID-19), if you are waiting for COVID-19 test results, or if you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 within the previous 14 days."

This requirement replaces all previous requirements.

November 1, 2020:  Due to the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, event descriptions are to provide appropriate warnings and recommendations found in resources such as the Public Health Advisory found on the Oklahoma State Department of Health's COVID-19 webpage found at this [LINK], under the Risk Level tab, and CDC guidance for gatherings found at this [LINK].  Other sources of recommendations or restrictions should also be considered, such as those issued specifically for Oklahoma City, Tulsa, or other cities or counties, or contained in Executive Orders issued by the Governor of Oklahoma.

The additions to your event page should include, but not be limited to:

* A recommendation for the wearing of a mask covering the nose and mouth and the practicing of social distancing, and

* A request for geocachers not to attend if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (symptoms of COVID-19), if they are waiting for COVID-19 test results, or if they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

June 1, 2020:  The publishing of new events in Oklahoma will resume on June 2.  The manager of the venue where the event will held (for example, city parks department, state park, restaurant, etc.) may have additional requirements and must provide permission for holding the event at the venue.  They must also approve the anticipated group size and event activities, such as food offerings.  This should be stated in a reviewer note when the new event is submitted for review.

May 16, 2020:  The publishing of new geocaches in Oklahoma has resumed.  The moratorium on the publishing of new events in Oklahoma continues until further notice.

May 2, 2020 (Tentative End of Moratorium on Geocaches):  A target date for resuming the publishing of new geocaches in Oklahoma is tentatively set as May 16, 2020.  This is conditional upon the anticipated start on May 15 of Phase 2 of the state's "Open Up and Recover Safely" plan for a phased approach to ending restrictions related to COVID-19.  Within this Phase is the guidance that individuals may "consider resuming non-essential travel". The start of Phase 2,  which has a goal of starting on May 15, is "subject to all Phase 1 guidelines being met".  If the start of Phase 2 is delayed, then the moratorium on new geocaches will continue until such time as Phase 2 actually starts.  Therefore, geocaches previously submitted and not published due to the moratorium should not be resubmitted again until the reviewer has posted a note to the cache page that the moratorium on new geocaches is officially over.

May 2, 2020 (Tentative End of Moratorium on Events):  A target date for resuming the publishing of new events in Oklahoma is tentatively set as June 2, 2020.  This date is very tentative and is conditional upon the anticipated start on June 1 of Phase 3 of the state's "Open Up and Recover Safely" plan for a phased approach to ending restrictions related to COVID-19.  It is also conditional upon Phase 3 having details which address the relaxation of limits on event/social group sizes.  Phase 3 "will allow for further public interaction", but the guidance is not very detailed at this time.  Further details for Phase 3 will be provided once the state enters Phase 2.  The start of Phase 3,  which has a goal of starting on June 1, is "subject to all guidelines being met".  If the start of Phase 3 is delayed, or if its details do not relax the restriction on social/event group size, then the moratorium on new events will continue until such time as these restrictions end.  Therefore, new events should not be submitted for review until the moratorium on new events is officially over, as indicated by an announcement on this policy page.  New events will need to be scheduled to occur no earlier than 14 days after the date of official end of the publishing moratorium.  Events scheduled earlier than this date will not be published.

April 5, 2020 (Moratorium on Geocaches):  Due to the present "safer at home" order issued by Oklahoma Governor Stitt and the “stay at home” orders issued by many Oklahoma cities and towns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is prudent to revise the reviewing practices for the State of Oklahoma effective April 5, 2020.

Until such time as safe practices to prevent the spread of the virus are no longer considered necessary, I will only be publishing caches in those locations which are consistent with social distancing and do not tempt geocachers to leave home unnecessarily, such as locations in extremely remote areas not near any communities or private residences.  I will not be publishing caches in or near towns/cities, rural residential areas, near businesses, or in locations that are officially closed.  If I am unsure about a particular cache location, I will err on the side of caution and will not publish it.  I realize this approach is imperfect, but I feel it is consistent with the Federal guidelines and preferable to stopping all cache publication within the state.

March 22, 2020:  In addition to Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the cities of Broken Arrow, Edmond, Lawton, Norman, and Stillwater have now closed all bars and restricted restaurants to carryout/delivery only.

Based upon this and in consideration of social distancing, new geocaching events, including CITO events, will not be published, until further notice.

Additionally, for events which have already been published, the hosts should consider either cancelling the event or postponing it to a future date when such restrictions are lifted, and social distancing is no longer recommended.

If you decide to cancel your event, the following steps should be taken:

1. Create an Announcement log to notify users that the Event is cancelled.

2. Archive the listing.

If you decide to postpone your event, the following steps should be taken:

1. Create an Announcement log to notify users that the Event is being postponed.

2. Either archive the listing and submit a new listing,

   OR

3. Request the reviewer to retract the listing (which basically takes it from a published state)

4. Edit the existing listing to change the date, time, and any other affected information

5. Submit the revised listing for review.

March 20, 2020 (Moratorium on Events):  As the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, there have been increased directives and recommendations from federal officials and city and state government officials in Oklahoma emphasizing that gatherings of greater than 10 people be avoided, cancelled and/or rescheduled. Additionally, the mayors of Oklahoma City and Tulsa have ordered the closure of all bars and limited restaurants to carryout/delivery.  Other public places where groups of people may gather have also been closed. The end date for these restrictions ranges from April 12 to indefinitely.

I will continue to monitor COVID-19 information and communication and will continue to revisit which caches I can publish.

Your understanding in these unprecedented times is greatly appreciated.

Oklahoma State Parks

A geocache permit is required for all Oklahoma State Parks. The permits are issued locally at each state park office or visitor's center. The permit number should be added to the Description section of the cache listing (example: This cache was placed with permission of (Name) State Park, Permit No. XYZ). Permit numbers are uniquely assigned by each state park.

A photo image of the approved permit, attached to a reviewer note, must be provided when the geocache is submitted for review. (NEW - 02/10/21).

Ouachita National Forest

A geocache permit is required for placing a cache within the boundaries of the Ouachita National Forest. The permits are issued locally at the district offices within the National Forest. The permit number should be added to the Description section of the cache listing (example: This cache was placed with permission of Ouachita National Forest, Permit No. xx). Permit numbers are uniquely assigned by each district office. There are many "islands" of private property with the National Forest, so there may be locations within the forest boundaries where a permit is not required. The cache owner must provide this information, however.

Railroad Property

Geocaches placed within 150 feet of an active railroad tracks, including spur lines, are considered to be on property belonging to a railroad.  Explicit permission from the railroad company owning the line must be obtained before a geocache will be allowed within that area.  Exceptions are generally allowed for geocaches placed in public parks, recreation areas, parking lots, etc., especially where man-made physical barriers are provided between the tracks and the geocache's hiding spot.  However, exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis for the given situation and allowance of the placement should not be assumed by the cache owner.

Event Stacking

When two or more events take place at times and in locations close to one another, this is referred to as “event stacking”.  This is not allowed as these events usually target the same attendees.  To avoid the appearance of event stacking, the “3/30 Rule” will be applied to all events submitted for review in Oklahoma:

Events must be separated in time by at least 3 hours unless the events are located at least 30 miles from one another.  “Separation in time” means the time between the end of the earlier event and the start of the later event.  If events are separated by more than 3 hours, then event stacking is not a consideration.

Side Events and Mega-Events

Side-Events are events that take place near a Mega-Event, on the days before and after the Mega. The following rules shall be applied to side-events:

• There can be one additional event (hosted by the event team; not a CITO) on the same day of the Mega, but it cannot overlap in time with the Mega.  This Event can be close in location to the Mega. No other events will be allowed within 50 miles of the Mega on the same day as the Mega.
  
  
• Other side-events may be hosted by the Mega event team or by other players and take place on the days before or after the Mega. Events submitted for one day before the Mega and one day after, will be limited to two events per day within 50 miles of the Mega. These side events must be separated in time by at least 3 hours.
  
  
• For side-events that take place two days or more before or after the Mega, the event-stacking “3/30 Rule”, as defined above, will be applied. The number of such events is not limited and the 50-mile distance from the Mega location is not applicable.