Here’s how tourism services can reopen while protecting their employees and patrons from the coronavirus.
Resource details:
Publication title: Directions to address, prevent and combat the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19: Tourism facilities, services and products
Author(s): The department of tourism
Publication date: 29 June 2020
What the directives are about:
These guidelines outline the precautions businesses in the tourism sector should take to reopen under South Africa’s lockdown level 3. Restaurants, accommodation services such as lodges and guest houses, conference venues and casinos are allowed to open under these directives — if they comply with the regulations. This document details the measures employers, employees and patrons of these establishments should take to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Key take-aways from the directives:
Keep record of employees and customers
- The names, identity (or passport) numbers of all employees — casual or permanent — must be recorded each day, together with their cellphone numbers.
- Customer names and addresses should be documented too.
- This applies to restaurants, accommodation services, conference venues and casinos.
- These records should be maintained daily for the duration of the state of disaster and kept for six weeks after the state of disaster is called off by the government.
Food services
- Employees must be screened at the start and end of their shifts.
- Delivery personnel should sanitise their hands before and after every delivery and when handling cards and cash for payment. The delivery vehicle should also be sanitised on a regular basis.
- Restaurants must inform customers placing orders for delivery to wear a mask when collecting their orders from the delivery person and to sanitise their hands after handling their package.
- Restaurants should consider a reservation system for sit-down services. Tables and seats should be set up to make sure there is 1.5 metres between each person. Patrons must wear masks at all times except when eating and drinking.
- No cloth mask means no entry to restaurants for sit-down meals.
Accommodation services
- People entering the property will have to take a screening questionnaire and can be isolated. Guests could also be denied access to the building to protect others in the establishment.
- With the exception of guests eating or drinking or in their bedrooms, masks must be worn at all times.
- Rooms will be cleaned regularly to lower the risk of contamination. However, turndown services will be stopped.
- Inessential objects like cushions, throws and decorations should be removed from rooms. Irons, sewing and vanity kits will only be made available on request.
- All guest rooms must be equipped with sanitiser.
Conference venues
- Conference-goers will only receive pens and paper on request and should keep them. Stationery left behind should either be wiped, sanitised, or thrown away.
- Delegates can only receive individual water bottles.
- Conference attendees must be given their own packet of mints. Communal containers and bowls are not allowed.
- Should microphones and podiums be used these should be sanitised after every use.
- Each conference-goer should have their own designated seat which they’re not allowed to change.
Casinos
- Casinos should limit their capacity to 50 percent of the available floor space.
- Physical distancing requirement of 1.5 metres should be maintained.
- Surfaces regularly touched, including machines, should be santised after every use. Alternatively guests should have access to sanitiser to santise surfaces themselves.
You can find and download the directives here.
[Please note: Information on the new coronavirus is rapidly changing. Please refer to the department of tourism website for the latest information. Visit www.sacoronavirus.co.za for updates on South Africa’s coronavirus response.]
