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COVID 19: Information for our yoga community
25 March 2020
TIPS TO MANAGE CORONAVIRUS SPREAD IF YOU CHOOSE TO STAY OPEN
Your students will appreciate assurance that you are doing all you can to keep your studio safe. To help out with this, we have created some A4 signs that you are more than welcome to download and use in your studio to help communicate this.
The Australian Department of Health has provided some very comprehensive advice in regards to cleaning. You can have a read here. Alternatively we have summarised the key points for you below.
At this point, Yoga Australia endorses social distancing to reduce risk and slow the spread of the virus and we will continue to update our position in line with Government advice. If you are still running classes we advise the following
- reduce class size
- increase distances between mats to at least 2m
- prepare studios as per our earlier advice re posters, sanitisers and hygiene
The difference between cleaning and disinfecting
- Cleaning is an essential part of disinfection. Organic matter can inactivate many disinfectants. Cleaning reduces the soil load, allowing the disinfectant to work.
- Removal of germs such as the virus that causes COVID-19 requires thorough cleaning followed by disinfection.
- It is good practice to routinely clean frequently touched surfaces with detergent solution and Clean general surfaces and fittings when visibly soiled and immediately after any spillage.
Yoga Mat Usage
- Encourage BYOM (Bring your own mat).
- Clean mats and props after each use and allow to dry.
- Use barriers – if they do use studio provided mats, make a towel over the mat compulsory
Your studio
- Stock your studio with at least a 60% alcohol-based hand sanitiser
- Provide antibacterial wipes
- Post a sign in the bathroom in regards to hand washing etiquette
- Ensure your bathrooms are stocked with plenty of soap
- Clean all surfaces in your studio multiple times a day
- Reduce the amount of props in your studio
- If you offer tea or water in your studio use disposable cups or even better, ask people to bring their own
Your Students
- Send an email to your students reminding them to stay home if they are unwell
- Post a notice on the door requesting students not enter if they are unwell
- Remind students of cough and sneeze etiquette before each class
- Encourage students to bring their own mats and blankets
- Encourage everyone to look out for each other and be understanding and kind
Your staff
- Monitor reports from government organisations regularly. The information is changing daily
- Ensure that your sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance
- Encourage staff to take the day off if they are sick
- Communicate with your staff and keep them updated on what is happening in the studio
- Don’t propose to know everything, the situation is changing daily
- Manage confidentiality for those who have contracted the coronavirus
Yoga Teachers
- Don’t teach if you are feeling unwell
- Wash your hands regularly with soap and water
- Try not to touch your eyes, nose and mouth
- Stay up to date on your rights as an employee or contractor
- Seek support from your friends and community
- Avoid doing partner work in your classes
THINGS TO CONSIDER AS AN EMPLOYER
We recognise that this is a very challenging scenario to navigate as you are dealing with the unknown. We have spoken to a few studios who are wondering what it means for them if a teacher/student were to contract coronavirus or be quarantined. Likewise, contracted and casual teachers are wondering what their rights are if they are unable to work for a period of time.
Our HR partner, HR Central, has provided us with some advice in regards to managing your business and employees. This is available for download here. The Yoga Australia team will be monitoring all government resources closely and will update this page and our social media accounts as soon as we have new information for you.
YOGA AUSTRALIA EVENTS
We have cancelled the ACT which was due to run this weekend. This was due to the interactive nature of this event which would have involved close contact between participants.
We are currently reviewing all upcoming events for April and May. Our main priority right now is acting with the best interest of our members, our presenters and the whole community in mind. We will do our best to ensure that these events are still able to run, in an online capacity, where possible. We will update on the status of these events as soon as we know more.
INSURANCE
GSA have received a lot of questions around whether the policy with GSA/CGU will provide coverage for online yoga classes. In particular, whether coverage applies to both pre-recorded and/or live classes.
CGU have confirmed that providing the classes being taught online are able to be safely and appropriately undertaken by the students and all necessary precautions have been addressed, the coverage available under the Professional Indemnity + Public & Products Liability policy will extend to the online classes (both pre-recorded and live), subject to the policy terms and conditions.
If you do not currently purchase your policy from GSA and would like to, please click the link below
If you have any further questions regarding online coverage, please contact GSA on 02 8274 8106
IMPORTANT RESOURCES
VIC
NSW
WA
SA
TAS
QLD
COMMUNITY
To our members. If you are a teacher or studio owner and you are feeling concerned on what this means for your business or just want to seek another opinion, we encourage you to join our member facebook group. It’s a wonderful community and sometimes just talking to each other can alleviate worry and concerns.
