Covid: 19 - Safe Operating Procedures for Holiday Customers (As at 8th October 2020) The government recently issued new guidelines that allow us to commence our holiday programme, albeit with many precautions and passenger numbers limited to approximately 30 on board. We want to ensure that while Covid 19 restrictions are in place you are still able to fully enjoy your holiday with us. Throughout this pandemic period it is very important that we all follow some simple guidelines to protect our staff, our passengers and anyone else that we may come into contact with as we carry out our holidays. As such please ensure you follow this guide to help us keep everyone safe.
‘Comfort Stop’ and Coach Cleaning: Our current enhanced cleaning procedure includes cleaning of all floors and seats, cleaning of all glass surfaces, mopping with disinfectant of all floor surfaces, disinfectant wiping of dash areas, driver controls and handles. It also includes cleaning all handrails, hand grabs, seat belt buckles, armrests and floors. It also includes vehicle anti-viral fogging on a weekly basis.
How do I protect myself and my fellow passengers? The fundamentals of staying safe are still as highlighted above…namely wash your hands frequently, at every opportunity during your holiday; use clean tissues for coughs and sneezes; and try to avoid touching your face - we know it is difficult! The following procedures comply with World Health Organisation guidelines and with the latest government guidelines. The transmission of Coronavirus is primarily through people touching surfaces contaminated by the virus and then transferring that contamination to their mouth, eyes or nose. There is also a possibility of breathing in droplets expelled by another person when in close face to face contact. The primary concern on board coaches is that of social distancing; passengers should keep their distance please from people outside their household and we recognise that this is not always possible. The key thing is not to be too close to people for more than a short amount of time. When around other people the biggest risk of infection is people in close ‘face to face’ positions. We have conducted an in depth risk assessment and can provide assurance and mitigation of these concerns. Our normal front facing seating arrangements avoids ‘face to face’ proximity and the physical 1
barrier of the high backed seats, plus the use of face coverings, masks or visors will all help to ensure maximum mitigation of the dangers and maximum safety. Here are further guidelines for your safety; 1. Firstly, please be sure that you are well and in good health during the week prior to your holiday. We will call you between one and three days before your holiday, to check that you are in good health. If at any time prior to your holiday, you feel any of the symptoms of Covid: 19, for example, tiredness, cough, high temperature, loss of sense of smell and taste; please contact us immediately so that considerations can be taken and action agreed. 2. When our door to door service driver arrives at your door, he or she will be wearing a face mask and will have sanitised his hands with anti-bacterial gel prior to handling your luggage. The vehicle will be clean, safe and sanitised and capacity will be reduced to 5 passengers maximum in order to provide for social distancing. Our vehicles have two rows of seating behind the driver and two passengers will be seated on each row. Where 5 passengers are accommodated, one passenger will be seated in the front, next to the passenger door. 3. When you arrive at our premises, you will be assisted by our staff. They will be wearing face masks. Our ‘Comfort Stop’ toilet facilities will be available; please wash your hands of course and maintain 2 metre social distancing whenever possible while using the facilities and while waiting to board. 4. You will be subject to a temperature check prior to boarding. It is generally accepted that 36.1C (97F) to 37.2C (99F) is the normal range for our bodies. Passengers with a high temperature will be requested not to travel, for the benefit of other passengers and will receive a full refund from us, less an administration charge of £50 per person. (This excludes travel insurance premiums as these are non-refundable. Please also note that this provision does not include air tours or cruises.) 5. Please wear a face covering when boarding and during the journey, preferably your own, however our driver will also have some spare masks available. Face visors instead of masks are acceptable on our coaches, however hotels may take a different view. So please bring a face covering too. For your comfort you are of course allowed to remove your face covering while eating and drinking on board, otherwise please ensure that your mouth and nose are covered. Please note that the government have laid down exemptions to this rule, therefore you may see passengers not wearing face coverings. If you are concerned about wearing a mask and would like to see details of exemptions, please contact us. 6. You will be asked to board just a few minutes before your departure time, in order to minimise the time that passengers spend on the coach once boarded – and where possible, boarding from the rear seats first. Please try to maintain 2 metre social distancing wherever possible, as you gather and when approaching and speaking with our driver. Our driver will sanitise his hands with anti-bacterial gel prior to and after handling your luggage and/or mobility aids like wheelie walkers and scooters. 7. Our courier will wear a mask or visor and will have anti-bacterial gel available. You will be requested please to sanitise your hands prior to boarding. Please also note that the toilet on board the coach will be available if required and our courier will sanitise it after each use. And also, rest assured that no journey will be longer than 2 hours without a comfort stop.
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8. Unfortunately, due to the need for our courier to limiting hers or his movement up and down the coach, hot drinks will not be available during journeys. They may be available when stationary at locations. Furthermore, bottled water will be available at only 50p per bottle. 9. Passengers who live together in the same household or are part of a social ‘bubble’, may sit together on a double seat. Where this occurs, the seat opposite, next to the aisle may not be used. Your seat number may also have changed because ideally passengers will be seated on alternate seats on each row wherever possible. The front double seat immediately behind the driver is unfortunately not available for use. 10. Our driver will drive with the roof vents open, a plentiful supply of fresh air helps to prevent the spread of germs. Our coach air-conditioning systems have been upgraded to ensure the provision of clean, filtered air. He or she may also be wearing a face mask while driving. 11. Our driver and courier will advise that upon arrival at the hotel and at attractions they will be exiting first and that once they have left the vehicle then you may safely disembark, starting from the front – please continue to observe social distancing while waiting to disembark. Obviously they will maintain a helpful presence but will also try to observe self-distancing requirements. 12. Once at the hotel, you will be required to follow their guidelines throughout your stay. We will ensure that they have carried out and implemented their risk assessment which will be according to accepted industry guidelines; and we will communicate their requirements to you in our pre-holiday travel pack letter. Please understand that there may be restrictions with regard to various public areas, i.e. lifts, bars and swimming pools - and bedroom facilities like mini-bars, dressing gowns and magazines may be removed. 13. Throughout your holiday, at the hotel and at attractions, please wash your hands even more regularly; and when boarding and disembarking from the coach please observe social distancing and use the hand gel that is supplied on board. Each day our driver and courier will wipe and sanitise all touch points on the coach, including all handrails, hand grabs, seat belt buckles, headrests and armrests. 14. With regard to the storage and exchange of luggage and such things as lost property, mobility aids etc, this will be carried out with full regard to all social distancing and hygiene requirements. We appreciate that these precautions and procedures are somewhat onerous, however, and most importantly, we want you to be safe and that you still have a most enjoyable holiday! It is of course in all our interests to do what we can to prevent the spread of the virus. Should you require any further information or have any specific considerations and requirements then please do not hesitate to contact us at info@johnsonscoaches.co.uk. SAFE AND LEGAL TRAVEL –WITHIN ‘THE RULE OF SIX’! We also want to reassure our customers that the Government’s announcement (on Wednesday 9 th September) about social gatherings being limited to six people, does NOT affect any holidays and day trips you have booked with us. There are exemptions that cover what businesses such as ours are allowed to safely and legally offer compared with informal and private events. In other words, group events are permitted when professionally organised by businesses like us, who have made risk assessments and put in place good practices for COVID safety. Thank you for your co-operation and for booking with Johnsons. 3