If a staff member (or someone in their household) or a customer has a persistent cough, a high temperature or has lost their sense of taste or smell, they should be isolating. Discourage activities which can create aerosol (such as shouting, chanting and singing along), seat individuals rather than allowing them to stand to help maintain social distancing, clearly communicate that individuals who should be isolating should not attend, and provide information on how the event will run. Where this is not possible, ensuring all rehearsal, training and performance areas, with particular regard to indoor and covered areas, have maximum ventilation whenever staff or audiences are present. Objective: To prioritise safety during incidents. Limiting the time spent in a hair and make-up chair whenever possible. By being adaptable, your workforce can gauge what is working versus what needs to be changed. Creating additional space by using other parts of the premises, venue, workshop or location that have been freed up by remote working. Although audiences are not permitted in venues during the period of national restrictions, there are four more things to be aware of if you are a performing arts venue planning for the return of audiences in the future: These are the priority actions to make your organisation safe during coronavirus. WORD OF MOUTH: Trust but verify. Organisations and venues are mandated to: In addition, venues will be required to ensure that anyone visiting provides their contact information or checks in using the official NHS QR code before being allowed entry to the venue. Understanding and taking into account the particular circumstances of those with different protected characteristics, such as those who are hearing or visually impaired. Where the enforcing authority, such as the HSE or your local authority, identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks, they are empowered to take a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. This could include advice or telephone support. Any PPE provided should fit properly. If you have fewer than five workers or participants, or are self-employed, you don’t have to write anything down as part of your risk assessment. If feasible, providing alternative means such as video link for them to participate. See also guidance on car sharing. If playing indoors, limiting the numbers to account for ventilation of the space and the ability to social distance. Both facilities have had outbreaks and deaths due to the coronavirus. Providing clear, consistent and regular communication, and in accessible formats, to improve understanding and consistency of ways of working. As part of this risk assessment, you should understand and take into account the particular circumstances of those with different protected characteristics, such as those who are hearing or visually impaired. Request cast and supporting artists remove their own make-up where possible – Where it is not possible for someone to do their own hair or makeup, following the government guidance on working in close contact settings where relevant – Using fixed teams as outlined. For example, avoid selling programmes or ice-cream inside or outside the auditoria, or at points of site of ingress or egress where crowds and queues may form and make social distancing harder to observe. Measures relating to indoor & outdoor performances are clarified in the introduction to section 3. Under the current national restrictions, no audiences are permitted to attend performing arts performances and non-professional activity can not currently take place. It's important to pause for a moment and collect your thoughts, as worldwide pandemics can be taxing. As a performing arts organisation, an employer or as an operator of a premises or venue, you also have a legal responsibility to protect workers, volunteers, audience members, users and others from risk to their health and safety. Managing household groups who may wish to remain closer than the required social distance but who, in doing so, may encourage others to cluster in a similar manner. Setting up reminders to your staff to physically get out and go for walks (socially distanced) or perform light stretches to start their day can make an impact. For additional reassurance, providing cleaning materials and hand sanitiser for use at touch points. Where assistance is unavoidable (for example for quick changes in the wings), where possible avoid face-to-face positioning during fittings – Where face-to-face positioning during fittings is unavoidable, following the government guidance on working in close contact settings where relevant – Using fixed teams and only where essential and unavoidable. Please be mindful that the wearing of a face covering may inhibit communication with people who rely on lip reading, facial expressions and clear sound. Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets, with increased frequency of cleaning in line with usage. Activity should take place outside where possible. Allowing residents … Don’t include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Most air conditioning systems do not need adjustment, however where systems serve multiple buildings, or you are unsure, advice should be sought from your heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineers or advisers. If you had a lunch buddy pre-COVID, try giving them a call during your lunch break when you go out for a walk. Only absolutely necessary participants should physically attend meetings and should maintain social distancing (2m, or 1m with robust risk mitigation where 2m is not viable, is acceptable). Using floor tape or paint to mark areas to help people keep the social distance. During the rapidly changing COVID-19 pandemic, it is critically important to be aware of recent developments such as grocery store hours, public transportation changes, area closings , shelter-in-place orders, etc. Free, open, unticketed and unfenced performances or events will need to demonstrate a robust approach to control numbers if too many people begin to arrive and to encourage social distancing, as well as fulfilling requirements to support contact tracing in the event of a subsequent case of COVID-19. In a professional work context, consideration for participants might involve using teams, groups or partnering to reduce the number of people individuals have contact with, for example, where social distancing may be impractical (such as intimate or fighting scenes in theatre, dancing, costume fitting, hair and make-up). One of my all-time favorite quotes by the famous Greek writer Nikos Kazantakis is, "Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality". This is important to mitigate the potential for increased risk of transmission - particularly from droplets and aerosol transmission. People with symptoms of COVID-19, or who have been advised to self-isolate following contact with someone with symptoms of COVID-19, should be asked not to attend. This could help contain clusters or outbreaks. See the [resulting SAGE paper]((https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pheemg-aerosol-and-droplet-generation-from-singing-wind-instruments-and-performance-activities-13-august-2020), as well as a recent paper on principles for safer singing published by the PHE-led Singing and Wind Instrument Group. DCMS commissioned scientific studies to be carried out to develop the scientific evidence on singing, wind instruments and performance activities. Before COVID-19, “Summer Fridays” equated to team lunches sharing weekend plans to hit the beach, barbeque outdoors, or venture out of the city for some fresh air and nature.