Checklist: Vehicle & vessels for up to 50 people from 12 noon 3 July 2020

This checklist should be completed and read in conjunction with the COVID Safe Principles outlined in the Queensland Tourism and Accommodation Industry COVID Safe Plan.

What you need to do to safely re-open your business

Wellbeing of workers

Direct workers to stay at home if they are sick, and to go home immediately if they become unwell. Require them to be tested for COVID-19 if they have any symptoms of acute respiratory disease (cough, sore throat, shortness of breath) or a fever or history of fever. They must remain in isolation at home until they get the result and it is negative for COVID-19.

Implement appropriate WHS controls as outlined in the WorkSafe COVID-19 guide.

Consider encouraging your staff to get flu shots as an additional public health measure. This should not be a mandatory requirement.

Implement measures to maximise the distancing between workers to the extent it is safe and practical. Minimise the time that workers are in close contact with each other.

To separate workers from patrons, either provide physical barriers such as plexiglass, or leave vacant seats to allow for 1.5m social distancing.

Where it is practical and safe to do so, review tasks and processes that usually require close interaction and identify ways to modify these to increase social distancing between workers and patrons.

Encourage baggage handling by patrons rather than staff, or if not possible, establish protocols to ensure staff are adequately protected with gloves and handwashing straight after handling.

Consult and communicate with workers and their representatives on COVID-19 measures in the workplace and provide workers with adequate information and education, including changes to work tasks and practices and appropriate cleaning and disinfection practices at work.

Put signs and posters up to remind workers and others of the risk of COVID-19.

Pre-screening

Check that patrons have not been in a declared COVID-19 hotspot in the past 14 days. This may include checking border declarations or residency documentation before commencing the experience.

Notify patrons that they will not be able to enter the experience if they are unwell, have COVID-19 symptoms or have been in a declared COVID-19 hotspot in the past 14 days. The notice should state that businesses have the right to refuse service and must insist that anyone with these symptoms will not be able to participate. This should be done at the time of booking and with signs at the entrance.

Inform patrons of expectations including staying at home if they feel unwell, providing contact details for record keeping and maintaining appropriate respiratory and hand hygiene.

Introduce flexible booking and refund policies to help encourage sick patrons to stay home.

Implement measures to restrict numbers within the experience, including maintaining a maximum of 50 people at any one time, in addition to staff. Experiences for more than 50 people are not covered by this checklist.

If social distancing cannot be accommodated in the experience, patrons should be informed at the time of booking or refunds offered to patrons who do not wish to proceed. In cases where patrons have consented to participate without social distancing, the entire tour group is considered a single group for activities that are part of the tour, e.g. dining in at a restaurant.

Social distancing

Introduce measures to restrict interaction between different groups in the tourism experience including assigning individual seats for the duration of the experience. Wherever possible, patrons should be seated and remain seated for the experience.

If practicable, set up separate exit and entry points to minimise contact.

Introduce measures to provide for appropriate social distancing between tour groups and members of the general public when in public spaces (e.g. lunch breaks on bus tours).

Limit the use of cash transactions by encouraging patrons to use contactless payment options.

Record keeping

Contact information must be kept on all patrons, workers and contractors, including full name, email address (residential address if not available), phone number and date and time of entry for a period of at least 56 days.

Ensure records are used only for the purposes of tracing COVID-19 infections and are captured and stored confidentially and securely.

Hygiene and cleaning

Ensure patrons are provided with hand washing facilities or appropriate alcohol-based hand sanitisers. Alcohol-based hand sanitiser containing at least 60% ethanol or 70% iso-propanol is recommended.

Where experiences required masks and gloves to control for risks other than COVID-19 infection (e.g. dust exposures), they must continue to do so. For controlling the risk of COVID-19 infection, masks and gloves may be considered as part of a range of controls.

Instruct patrons and workers to practise good hygiene by frequently cleaning their hands. Hand washing should take at least 20 to 30 seconds. Wash the whole of each hand, covering all areas with soap before washing with water. If hand washing is not practical, alcohol-based hand sanitiser containing at least 60% ethanol or 70% iso-propanol is recommended.

Refrain from providing refreshments in a manner which allows handling of plates, cutlery and other items by multiple people

Limit time within the confines of a vehicle/vessel wherever practical to help enable frequent cleaning of high touch areas, surfaces and spaces with detergent or disinfectant and to minimise use of shared facilities such as changing areas, toilets, and showers on the vehicle/vessel.

Any surfaces or equipment used by patrons must be cleaned between patrons. Ensure appropriate sterilisation of relevant equipment and sufficient time is kept between appointments to allow for this.

Review and monitor

Regularly review your systems of work to ensure they are consistent with current directions and advice provided by health authorities.

This checklist is a key part of your compliance with a COVID Industry Plan.