A large part of reducing the risk of Covid-19 will be around the behaviour and vigilance of your team. This HSE guidance on ‘Talking with your workers about preventing coronavirus’ is a great starting point as you begin to reopen.
a) You no longer need to stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with. There are also now no limits on the number of people you can meet. However, in order to minimise risk at a time of high prevalence, you should limit the close contact you have with those you do not usually live with and increase close contact gradually. This includes minimising the number, proximity, and duration of social contacts.
b) You may wish to put up signs and issue information to help promote voluntary social distancing. The CPNI has a set of downloadable workplace posters and guidance on how to use them.
c) You may wish to avoid sharing workstations. If workstations do need need to be shared ensure they are thoroughly cleaned after each use.
d) You may wish to use back-to-back or side-to-side working whenever possible and consider using screens or barriers to separate people from each other.
e) Consider where the high traffic areas in the building are likely to be, and whether any areas may need to remain closed. Can you implement a one-way system to reduce contact?
f) Introduce a bookings system, if appropriate, so waiting times are minimised.
g) Keep activity time as short as possible, with fast transitions into and out of activity spaces.
h) Try to reduce the number of people each person has contact with by restructuring your activities and staggering start and finish times.
i) Where practical, meet people outdoors. This is safer than meeting indoors because fresh air provides better ventilation.
j) See the Government guidance on COVID-19 for more information, including updated guidance following new announcements.