What actions do you and your organisation need to take?

Individuals:

• Regular and thorough hand-washing with hot soapy water (for at least 20 seconds) - this is the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice - here are some other song suggestions to get some good sounds from your bathrooms
• The agreement not to take offence when someone politely reminds us about washing our hands (it is easy to forget when we are always in a rush and our minds are elsewhere)
• Cover your cough or sneeze with an elbow or a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin
• Using antibacterial wipes on phones etc. especially if you hot desk regularly
• Avoid close contact with people who are unwell
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands

Organisations:

• Put practical measures in place to help reduce the spread of the virus such as improved signage in toilets about hand-washing; antibacterial hand-wash in kitchens and regular disinfecting of taps and public door handles
• Provide hand sanitiser, tissues and cleaning products around your building for staff and volunteers
• Ensure people you support to understand the situation (particularly if they are unable to speak/read English
• People who feel unwell should stay at home and should not attend work/volunteering 
  • There is new Stay at Home Guidance from the government if you have symptoms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, stay at home and do not leave your house for 7 days from when your symptoms started. 
  • The symptoms are:
    • a high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)
    • a new, continuous cough
• If you provide services for Social or Community care or in residential settings you should consider ensuring your staff and volunteers wash their hands:
  • before leaving home
  • on arrival at work
  • after using the toilet
  • after breaks and sporting activities
  • before food preparation
  • before eating any food, including snacks
  • before leaving work
  • on arrival at home

Keep up to date with the latest advice

If you are considering whether to close your services or change how you work to remote working then there is some guidance here you may want to consider.  GOV.UK Guidance for social or community care & residential settings on COVID-19 - For details on closure of workplace if someone is being tested or confirmed with the virus and cleaning your office space.  

Some workplaces have made the decision to:

• Ask all staff and volunteers to work remotely / from home for the next 2-4 weeks 
• Cancel larger gatherings/meetings or change them to remote meetings 
• have a triage process in place and not see clients who are exhibiting symptoms
• not change their service but to have increased cleaning and hygiene routines to prevent the spread, this might also include not shaking hands or having physical contact and following the principles of Social Distancing