General Health Considerations
1. STAY HOME if feeling unwell or if you, or someone in your household , is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 such as sore throat, fever, sneezing, coughing, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing. To determine if you have symptoms please refer to the online self-assessment tool at: https://bc.thrive.health/
2. If you have symptoms, get tested and self-isolate at home until you receive negative results AND your symptoms have completely resolved.
3. If it’s not possible to get a test, employees must self-isolate at home for 10 days AND until their symptoms have completely resolved.
4. Workers who live in the same household as someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19 or someone who is exhibiting symptoms, waiting for covid test results, quarantining and / or self isolating must stay at home.
5. If you have any concerns about the safety of working at the farm, team members should bring these concerns to Leslie’s attention
6. Outside of the workplace, follow government guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronaviru s-infection/prevention-risks.html
Screening Questionnaire
● If you are working on site it is mandatory that you fill in the following questionnaire before you enter the farm site. This must be completed EVERY DAY that you enter the farm:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLSO4fsSCXiFrMK8h04fx6Uv-wNC 9S2JvY3m35tFTE3s9IMg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Physical Distancing
● Practice physical distancing of at least 2 meters, and avoid all physical contact
● When doing any task where physical distancing is not possible, such as lifting heavy machinery or folding tarps, masks must be worn.
PPE
Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer is provided for workers.
Masks
Disposable KN95 masks are available for workers, or workers may use their own masks.
Use a new mask every day.
Masks are mandatory
1. inside Buemann House
2. inside Mary’s Barn
3. when breaking physical distancing while performing farm tasks
4. when working with volunteers
5. when serving customers
6. when using bleach spray
7. when working in the greenhouses and the sides are not able to be rolled up
Masks are recommended at all other times but are not mandatory.
For instructions on how to wear a mask see:
https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-safety/posters/help-prevent-spread-co vid-19-how-to-use-mask?lang=en
Gloves
● Each farm worker will be issued a pair of gloves, or they may bring their own. These gloves should be clearly labelled and kept with their owner to avoid confusion.
Enhanced Hygiene practices
● Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds as often as necessary, at least:
● Upon arrival at the farm
● Before and after preparing food and eating
● After washroom use
● Before leaving the farm
● Whenever hand washing with water and soap is not possible, sanitise your hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
● Temporary handwashing stations : A handwash station has been set up at the following locations:
● Entrance to Healing Gardens
A handwashing station comprises:
● Running water
● Soap
● Paper towel on holder
● Waste water bucket
● Waste bin for used paper towels
A hand sanitizer bottle can be found in the following locations. If a bottle is empty, refill it immediately.
● Inside the tool room, beside the door
● Between the barn sinks, in the washing area
● Before the main entrance door of Buemann House
● Inside Greenhouse 2
Enhanced surface disinfection
● Perform Appendix 1: Sanitation at the start of the work shift, once daily · Perform Appendix 2: Cleaning after lunch break, once daily
● Perform sanitation with 100PPM chlorine bleach of all tools and any other items left in the designated ‘TO BE SANITIZED’ area at the end of the shift.
● Spray bottles of chlorine bleach will be kept in the following places:
● 1 x 100PPM Near the area designated ‘TO BE SANITIZED’ at the entrance of the tool room.
● 1 x 100PPM & 1 x 500PPM in Buemann House
Low supplies
If you notice that cleaning products or any other safety protocol items are running low, alert Sarah or Leslie to supply more. This includes, but is not limited to :
● Bleach
● Paper towels
● Hand soap
● Hand sanitizer
Use of indoor space
1. Any time weather permits, meetings and trainings will be held outside
2. Lunch is taken outside
3. Volunteers and visitors are not allowed in the barn or Buemann House
4. The number of people allowed into an enclosed space is capped as follows:
● Tool room: 2
● Nursery: 2
● Walk-in cooler: 1
● Washing area: 5
● Potting shed: 1
● Greenhouses: 4
● Buemann House: 8
● Buemann House Board Room: 4
Cubby holes / cupboard space
Staff will be assigned their own cubby hole to keep personal items / food / dishware & utensils.
Start and end of shift
This is a time when there is a higher propensity for workers to forget to physically distance themselves. When you are putting your things in the fridge / cubbies be extra
mindful of maintaining physical distancing and do not loiter in Buemann House after you’ve finished. Remember masks must be worn inside Buemann House.
Greenhouses:
● When working in the greenhouses make sure the sides are fully rolled up and the doors are open.
● Make sure to return sides to their former position when you finish working in the greenhouses.
● If weather means we cannot open the sides fully masks must be worn
Mary’s Barn
● make sure all the doors are propped open to allow ventilation
● Wear a mask
● Maintain physical distancing
Walk-in Cooler
● Walk in coolers are particularly dangerous because of the cold air and the circulation patterns of the air. Strictly only one person in the cooler at a time.
Use of tools:
1. Take tools from their storage location (i.e. tool room, tool shed, etc. ) Do not take tools from the area designated “TO BE SANITISED.”
2. As much as possible, avoid sharing tools.
3. When finished with the tool for the day, sanitize
4. Put the tools back into their storage location.
5. If the sanitation of the tools is not possible right away, place them into the area designated “TO BE SANITISED.”
6. At the end of the shift, perform sanitation of any items left in the area designated “TO BE SANITISED” and put tools back into their storage location.
Truck
For best practise only one member of staff should be in the farm truck at a time. If having two people in the truck is unavoidable keep the maximum distance possible, wear masks and drive with both cab windows fully down.
Volunteers
Volunteers should not enter the barn or Buemann House.
Volunteers can enter the greenhouses only if they are working on a task in that greenhouse and if both sides of the greenhouse are fully rolled up.
If needed, we can bring gloves or tools to volunteers outside.
Staff members should read the Covid 19 Volunteers procedure prior to welcoming and orienting volunteers. Ensure the volunteers are aware of the Covid 19 Volunteers procedure. If unclear, explain to them the measures in place to prevent contamination.
Tasks assigned to the volunteers have to be performed while maintaining a two-meter distance between each other.
Volunteers are asked to use the public bathrooms in the Red Barn. They are not allowed to use Buemann House washrooms.
Buemann House for Staff
1. When weather is warm enough that the furnace is off, keep the front and back doors propped open and open kitchen window.
2. Masks are mandatory inside Buemann House
3. Maximum of 2 people in the kitchen at a time.
4. Keep 2 metres away from others inside the building.
5. Do not share office computers. If staff other than those who usually use the computer must use the farm computers they must sanitize the keyboard and mouse before and after with hand sanitizer and paper towel.
Guidance for employees during breaks:
● Wash your hands before and after lunch breaks
● Do not prepare or handle food for others
● Take turns using the kitchen space. Only two people at a time in the kitchen space to ensure that physical distancing is maintained.
● Do not share food, plates, cups, utensils or dish washing sponges / cloths/ brushes. Bring all your dishware/ utensils with you, and take them home to wash or keep your dishware / utensils and a personal dish washing sponge / cloth / brush in your personal cubby.
●Lunch will be eaten outside. In bad weather tables can be set up under the awning of Mary’s Barn.
Suspected cases of COVID-19
If a worker who has been onsite reports having symptoms of COVID-19, the cleaning protocol outlined in Appendix 1 should be used with 1000ppm bleach solution. (See Appendix 5 on how to create and use 1000ppm solution)
Positive cases of COVID-19
●If a worker who has been onsite reports having a positive COVID-19 test, the cleaning protocol outlined in Appendix 1 should be used with 1000ppm bleach solution.
● If a worker has a positive Covid result, any worker who has been within 2 metres of the positive worker for more than (a cumulative) 15 minutes in the previous 48 hours must self isolate for the recommended number of days.
● All other workers must be extra vigilant about monitoring their symptoms and going for tests.
● If we receive different instructions to this from Vancouver Coastal Health, we will follow them.
Employee orientation:
1. Read this document and sign the TSF training record document to acknowledge that you have read, understood, and will follow the preventative measures described.
2. Attend in-person presentation / training.
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