I think what we share in our love for The Vancouver Club is that it is a living, breathing being.

This is a live document and will be updated in accordance with orders and recommendations by our provincial health authorities.

COVID-19 Safety Plan

1. 1. Development of our COVID-19 Safety Plan
2. 2. Protocols Implemented to Reduce the Risks of COVID-19 at the Club
3. 3. Policies and Guidance
4. 4. Communication Plan and Training
5. 5. Monitor Implementation of the Safety Plan
6. 6. Potential Risks from Resuming Operations
7. References
8. Appendix

1.Development of the Club’s COVID-19 Safety Plan

The Club’s COVID-19 Safety Plan was developed by HR and the senior management team.

Employee feedback through the survey sent to staff, also helped identify areas and activities posing a risk, to allow us to develop elimination measures and controls.

We have followed WorkSafeBC’s COVID-19 Safety Plan guidance document to develop this plan. A copy of the completed WorkSafeBC guidance document is attached as Appendix A.

Please direct any questions, comments or concerns about this COVID19 Safety Plan to the Club’s Health and Safety Officer, Helen Worth, either in person, via email at helen@vancouverclub.ca or by phone 604-331-7004.

2. Protocols Implemented to Reduce the Risks of COVID-19 at the Club

We have identified areas and activities at the Club where there may be risks of contracting COVID-19,  either through close physical proximity or through contaminated surfaces, and implemented controls to address these risks.  

In identifying controls, we considered the hierarchy of controls where possible, taking steps to eliminate the risk, and, where not possible, implementing engineering controls, administrative controls and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), in that order.

We will continue throughout the application of this COVID-19 Safety Plan to identify new areas and activities of potential risk and to implement appropriate elimination and control measures. 

The details of these protocols are included within the appendices to this Safety Plan and in the Reopening in a COVID-19 World plan and they should be read in conjunction.

3. Policies

a) Employees must not work when ill

Any employee that is feeling sick or has had symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 10 days must stay home and is prohibited from coming into the Club. There are no exceptions. 

Symptoms include: fever, chills, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath, sore throat and painful swallowing, new muscle aches or headache, stuffy or runny nose, loss of sense of smell, loss of appetite, fatigue, and in some cases rash on skin or discolouration of fingers or toes.

We must all do our part to help protect each other.

b) Employees directed by Public Health to self-isolate

Employees directed by Public Health to self-isolate must not come into the Club until Public Health has decided that it is safe for them to do so. Similarly, if you live in the same household as a confirmed or clinical COVID-19 case who is self-isolating, you must stay away from the Club. 

c) Employees who have been outside Canada

Employees that have travelled outside of Canada must remain away from the Club and self-isolate for at least 14 days.

d) Employees that begin to feel ill at work

Employees who begin to feel ill while working at the Club, even with minor symptoms, must follow the procedures below:

1. Do not leave your workspace. If you are in an office with a door, close it.

2. Put on a facemask.

3. Use the hand sanitizer provided to sanitize your hands.

4. Contact the Health and Safety Officer or HR by phone or email.

5.  After speaking with the Health and Safety Officer or HR , proceed directly home. The preference is for you to drive yourself home, if possible, or, alternatively, to have someone you reside with pick you up. If this is not possible, you are to travel home in a manner that poses the least risk to the public. Continue to wear your facemask and to sanitize your hands until you are at home.

6. Once at home, it is recommended that you contact local health authorities to determine whether a COVID-19 test is necessary.

7. Immediately following the employee’s departure from the workplace, the Club shall undergo a deep clean / sanitization.

9. We will identify any members and employees that may have come into contact with the employee and seek advice from Public health whether these members and employees should be sent home to self-isolate.

Further sanitizing measures will be taken if an individual who has been in the Club tests positive for COVID-19.

e) First Aid Attendants

The Club currently has 4 First Aid Attendants. The First Aid Attendants for fiscal 2020/21 have received a copy of WorkSafeBC’s Occupational First Aid Attendants Protocols during the COVID-19 Pandemic for review. This document sets out protocols for providing first aid during the pandemic to prevent any potential transmission of illness to the First Aid Attendant while treating the injured person.

All of our First Aid Attendants have reviewed the document and confirmed they will apply the protocols while providing first aid services during the pandemic.

f) Working Alone Policy

Some of the Club’s employees are working from home, and there is a possibility that some of our employees are working alone, without anyone present to check-in on their well being.

Given this, the Club has developed a system for ensuring that persons living alone and are working from home are checked in on regularly. The process is as follows:

• – The Club will send an email asking who amongst its employees do not have another person regularly present while they are working from home.
• – The Club will assign those individuals a person who is also working alone as a check-in person.
• – The paired up employees will contact each other by email or phone at least daily to ensure their mutual wellbeing.
• – If an employee is unable to contact their check-in person, they are to keep trying. If after an hour they are still unable to get in contact with their check-in buddy, they are to report this failed contact to Helen Worth (HR).
  • Human Resources will take further steps to ensure the well-being of the individual.

g) Working from Home Policy

The Club has encouraged a number of team members to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. These employees are considered “at work” when working from home and, as such, WorkSafeBC requires those working from home to take steps to ensure their health and safety including:

• – Ensuring you have a comfortable and safe workspace;
• – Ensuring your wellbeing at least once a day (by phone or email); and
• – Identifying proper evacuation procedures from the home.

Any workplace incidents or injuries arising “out of and in the course of” working from home must be reported to Helen Worth. Not all at home incidents and injuries need to be reported, only those that were caused by the work activities being conducted at home.

h) General guidance and specific changes for departments

Employees need to be aware that things are different now. There is a “new normal” and we all have to commit to doing our part in making a change. Appendix B includes a more detailed list of guidance for employees on what to expect and steps to follow, as well as specific changes for departments.

4. Communication Plan and Training

Management has been communicating regularly with you all through our weekly livecast meetings and our quarterly employee communication meeting, including about its COVID-19 Safety Plan, returning to the workplace and the measures implemented to ensure the return to the workplace is done safely.

This COVID-19 Safety Plan and the Club’s Reopening in a COVID-19 World plan are posted on the Club’s Humanity system, and at the workplace.

In addition, employees have been provided a copy by email and asked to confirm their understanding of its contents.

Updates to the COVID-19 Safety Plan may be necessary to address newly identified risks, concerns, or regulatory requirements. Revised versions will replace previous versions posted at the workplace with a message sent out to employees with the revised plan for review and a summary highlight of the changes.

5. Monitor Implementation of the Safety Plan

Management will monitor the implementation and adherence to the COVID-19 Safety Plan. 

6. Potential Risks from Resuming Operations

Management is committed to mitigating any potential risks from resuming operations and exceeding standards outlined by WorkSafeBC.

REFERENCES

1. Order of the Provincial Health Officer: Mass Gathering Events, May 22, 2020
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/reports-publications/covid-19-pho-class-order-mass-gatherings.pdf

2. Order of the Provincial Health Officer: Food Service Establishments & Liquor Services, May 22, 2020
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/covid-19-pho-order-nightclubs-food-drink.pdf

3. BC’s Restart Plan, May 15, 2020
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/bc-restart-plan

4. WorkSafeBC. Restaurants, cafés, and pubs: Protocols for returning to operation, May 2020
https://www.worksafebc.com/en/about-us/covid-19-updates/covid-19-returning-safe-operation/restaurant-cafes-pubs

5. BC Restaurant & Food Services Association. COVID-19 Reopening: Best Practices & Resources
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d37827eea1ab800017d102d/t/5ec7065607834802b031b83c/1590101600886/BCRFA+Restaurant+Reopening+Orientation.pdf 

6. Restaurant Business Online. As Restaurants Struggle, Distributors Face Their Own Challenges, May 18, 2020
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/restaurants-struggle-distributors-face-their-own-challenges

7. Grocery Insights: Inflation During COVID-19, May, 2020. Sysco market research from sourced from Statistics Canada

8. Dalhousie University + University of Guelph. Canada’s Food Price Report 10^th Edition 2020

9. World Health Organization. Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19, March 3, 2020
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/getting-workplace-ready-for-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=359a81e7_6

10. World Health Organization. Key planning recommendations for Mass Gatherings in the context of COVID-19. Interim Guidance, March 19, 2020
https://www.who.int/publications-detail/key-planning-recommendations-for-mass-gatherings-in-the-context-of-the-current-covid-19-outbreak

11. Yellow Cross. Certified Safe safety training and certification in order to reduce the spread of infectious diseases and viruses
https://yellowcross.org/

12. Join Statement on B.C.’s COVID-19 Response, Latest Updates, BC Government News, November 7, 2020
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020HLTH0059-001922

13. Order of the Provincial Health Officer: Gatherings and Events, March 24, 2021
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/covid-19-pho-order-gatherings-events.pdf

14. Three-week circuit breaker begins now to bend the curve, protect people, BC Government News, March 29, 2021
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021PREM0023-000578

15. Order of the Provincial Health Officer: Food and Liquor Serving Premises, March 31, 2021
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/covid-19-pho-order-nightclubs-food-drink.pdf

16. Indoor Individual Exercise Requirements, BC Government Orders and notices, March 31, 2021
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/indoor-exercise-requirements.pdf

17. Province-wide restrictions, B.C.’s Response to COVID-19, April 1, 2021
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/restrictions

Appendix

GUIDANCE FOR STAFF

Social interaction is critical to our individual well-being and health, and is a key part of our Club.  Increased social interaction must balance this fundamental human need with key actions to reduce transmission.  Our “new normal” is based on principles that apply to every person and every situation. These principles include: 

• 1. Stay informed, be prepared and follow the government health advice. 
• 2. Practice good hygiene: regular hand hygiene with soap & water and hand sanitizer, avoid touching your face, and respiratory etiquette. Hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Please see Appendix C on good handwashing practices per WCB.
• 3. Do NOT use member washrooms, but the staff washrooms only.
• 4. Please ensure long hair is tied back. This applies to all employees in all departments.
• 5. Increase cleaning of frequently touched surfaces at home and work. This includes doorknobs and handles, telephones, elevator panels and buttons, light switches, tables, chairs and work surfaces in staff rooms, desktops, washrooms, point of sale devices and menus, etc.
• 6. Maintain physical distance outside your household, e.g.: no handshakes or hugs, keep your number of contacts low and keep a safe distance.
• 7. We have made necessary contacts safer with appropriate controls, e.g. use of provided barriers and redesigned spaces. Controls must be observed and maintained.
• 8. Wear a non-medical mask when working in the Club. 
• 9. We have implemented a contactless delivery service to / from the Club when possible. Suppliers will not come into the Club if avoidable.  Those that do will be screened prior to entry.
• 10. We will be working with minimal employees to allow sufficient space for physical distancing.
• 11. Shifts and schedules are being planned so that all departments that cover the essential services and security of the building do not interact in-person, in or outside of work. This limits the impact if someone becomes ill and those they have been in contact with need to self-isolate. 
• 12. Work activities that can be done remotely will be.
• 13. Break times and schedules will be staggered to support maintaining physical distances between people.
• 14. Larger team meetings will be held virtually e.g. the quarterly communication meeting.
• 15. Stay at home and away from others if you feel ill – with no exceptions.
• 16. Make use of the medical resource information that is available to you, including the COVID-19 self-assessment tool to help determine if further assessment or testing for COVID-19 is needed.  You can also contact 8-1-1 if further health advice is required and 9-1-1 if it is an emergency. You can learn more about how to manage illness here: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/about-covid-19/if-you-are-sick 
• 17. Management will ensure that protocols are being followed and understood at all times. 

Sanitize The Clubhouse

• We are scheduling hourly deep-cleaning and sanitation procedures. 
• We are scheduling the sanitizing of all shared surfaces every 30 minutes.

Protect & Train Staff

• – All employees returning to work are required to successfully complete the Yellow Cross training accreditation in relation to cleaning and hygiene.
• – Training and communication records will be maintained for all employees as part of our reopening plan.
• – All employees are equipped with sanitization gear and must ensure they understand and commit to the elevated sanitization protocols.  
• – Handwashing is required every 30 minutes. 
• – Hand sanitizer stations are provided at entryways to and throughout the Club. 
• – Maintain a 2-metre distance from members, guests and other employees, where possible.
• – Glass and plexiglass barriers have been or are being installed where appropriate.
• – All employees are provided with masks which are mandatory for wear during shifts and in all indoor spaces.
• – Eliminate hand-to-hand contact with members. 
• – Maintain a zero-tolerance standard for yourself, family and close friends to not socialize when any of you have the symptoms of a cold, flu, or COVID-19, including coughing or sneezing.
• – Maintain regular social contact with extended family or a small group of friends, but only get together in small groups (2-6 people) and maintain reasonable physical distancing (cautiously expand your circles of social contact, while protecting those more at risk).
• – We strongly discourage cross-border travel by employees for the time being. If employees do choose to travel outside of Canada or to a province with a high active case-count of COVID-19, they will be required to inform the Health & Safety Officer and self-isolate for 14 days.
• – Upon entry to the Club at the Cordova Street entrance, all employees are required to follow specific processes, including waiver and health declarations and temperature checks using a contactless thermometer.
• – Per WorkSafeBC guidelines, anyone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, such as a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, will be sent home immediately.
• – If an employee tests positive for COVID-19 and they have been in contact with others in the workplace, WorkSafeBC and Vancouver Coastal Health will be informed.
• – The front-of-house team is provided with a standard communication to explain to guests why the safety processes are necessary, e.g.: “With the global spread of the virus we are trying our best to…”

Create a Private Enclave 

Members will have access to the Club through the main doors and all secondary entrances will be closed. They will no longer access the building through the Cordova Street entrance. It will be used for employees and deliveries only.

Reposition For Physical Distancing

Ensure to observe proper safety protocols when passing others in the Club, including in employees-only areas.  

Maintain a 2-meter distance from coworkers, members, and guests. If work activities mean that physical distancing cannot be maintained at all times, you must use the masks you have been provided with as an additional measure.  

Guidance for Any Interactions

If we do find ourselves dealing with a situation where someone at the Club has COVID-19, firstly we will contact the local health authorities. Secondly, it is important to be transparent with the membership and over-communicate the steps being taken to return to a safe environment.

À la Carte Dining Experience and Protocols

The Waiting Area: 

Reservations are required for all À la Carte areas. Guests will wait in the Lobby until they are directed to their room / seats.

Chits: 

Members are no longer required to fill out a chit. A verbal member number and order will be provided once seated at the table. Servers will take orders on chits as per normal and will input the information into Lightspeed. There will simply be no contact between the chit and the guest, and as such, it is imperative that member numbers are correctly entered and checked in PL.  If members require a receipt, an email can be sent or it can be viewed on PL.

Sanitization:

We will be using stainless steel or glass spray bottles to sanitize all surfaces in the Bar & Grill and in the Captain’s Bar.

After a guest leaves and the table is cleared of all items, we will sanitize all surfaces, the base, legs, chairs and tabletop thoroughly before we can reset for the next guest.

The Gold Bar

The Gold Bar is closed until further notice and members are prohibited from entering the area for any reason. It will be used as a pathway in and out of the kitchen for our service employees and we will not run any food or beverage to or from the kitchen and the bar.

The Bar itself will be serviced by our bartenders and servers and is only used as a service area.

All chairs that were at the bar have been removed and the 3 high top tables are now in the 20’s lounge area.

The Bar & Grill

Physically distanced tables are now in place. The former 30’s/40’s section has been reduced in size accordingly. All tables are set as 4-tops to allow extra space for delivery and clearing of food and beverage.

All fabric has been removed from the entire space and all chairs, tables and any other furniture inside the outlet are now wipeable and are easily sanitized.

How Members and Staff Will Move Within the Room:

Members will enter through the main door and will be shown directly to their designated table. They will leave through the same route. Under no circumstances will anyone other than employees and members with reservations be granted access to the Bar & Grill.

Table Service:

All servers, food runners, bartenders, supervisors, and managers will be wearing masks. It is mandatory to wash your hands every 30 minutes and food runners will be required to change their apron every 2 hours.

We will be using the tableside tray service method for all services inside the Bar & Grill, Captain’s Bar, and Coworking Space.

Food Service:

The expeditor will place the finished dishes on the trays provided. The food runner will bring the tray (without cloches) from the kitchen, through the Gold Bar to the table. At which point the server in said section will have a wooden tray stand opened and beside the table.  The server will carefully serve from a distance as much as possible.

Wine Service:

The sommelier will provide all glassware and place it at the edge of the table before carefully serving from a distance as much as possible.

Menus:

Menus (Grill, bar, dessert, wine, and cocktail) are available by either by scanning the QR code present on the table or by requesting a single-use paper menu.  Members are encouraged to use the QR code as much as possible.

Water: Members will pour their own water and we will be selling bottled water for the table at a reduced price. Tap water will be available. 

Clearing:

Members will be requested to leave all dishes and glassware at the edge of their assigned table when they are finished each course / dining. Servers are allowed to set up a tray stand and clear everything from the table onto the tray table side, by themselves.  Synchronized clearing will no longer occur.

Tabletop Items:

We have removed flowers and other tabletop items. If guests would like salt and pepper we will provide sanitized wipeable grinders that will be removed from the table again when it is being cleared.

We will avoid touching coffee cups & saucers or water glasses when refilling them.

Leftovers:

If members ask to take unfinished food home with them, we will provide packaging and let the member put the food into the container themselves. We will discourage members from holding onto unfinished food for long periods of time and will not be keeping it for them at concierge.

Captain’s Bar & Lounge:

From October 1, members are now permitted to bring guests into the Captain’s Bar & Lounge. This is on a trial basis to be reassessed at the end of the month. Suggested: reservations for parties up to 4. Maximum 6 per party when tables are available. All chairs, except 2, have been removed from the bar area itself. All other tables and chairs throughout the bar have been physically distanced and the buffet has been removed. There will be no lunch service in the Captain’s Bar at this time.

*Guests or members not following COVID-19 protocols, over-consuming or disrespecting staff may be removed from the Club and have member liquor locker privileges suspended.