Covid-19 Pandemic Preparedness & Response Plan for Reopening Northford Ice Pavilion – Northford, CT

General Measures

• Rink capacity will be reduced in accordance to state guidelines per rink
• Keeping up with CT COVID-19 health guidelines.
• Designated entrance and exit doors.
• Ensuring all customers wear masks.
• Employees will be wearing masks and gloves.
• Log book will be provided for enhanced sanitizing of lobby, snack bar, locker rooms, bathrooms, door handles, and all counter tops.
• Screening temperature of customers and employees entering the building.
• Implementing social distancing in locker rooms, on benches, and at snack bar with tape markers.
• Offering hand sanitizer in front of the building and in each rink
• Booking and payments will be done remotely thereby eliminating contact with office staff.
• Ice times will be booked with spacing to prevent engagement between customers entering and exiting.
• Increasing distance of credit card machine and adding sneeze shield between employees and customers at snack bar.
• NIP employees will remain home if sick to ensure we are keeping everyone safe.

Sanitizing

• Common/High-Traffic Areas – Increase cleaning intervals to ensure a safe environment.  Athletic areas will have limited capacity per state guidelines.  Congregating in common areas will not be allowed (lobby and snack bar seating area and outdoors).
• “High-Touch Areas” - Disinfect doors, handles, light switches, keyboards, telephones, handrails, point-of-sale systems, faucets, and restroom dispensers 3 to 4 times daily.
• Player benches, penalty boxes, scoreboard controllers, and locker room benches – Disinfect between uses and record it in a time log.
• Operations – All operational controls, equipment and tools will be disinfected following each shift and between use, if feasible, if these items are manned and/or used by more than one worker.
• Floors and Walls – Mop floor surfaces 3-4 times daily and disinfect frequently touched wall surfaces.
• Locker rooms – Customers will be assigned to specific rooms upon entry.  All 24 rooms have been marked to maintain 6 ft distancing and will be disinfected prior to and after each groups’ use.  All locker room doors will be propped open.   Room capacity will be limited based on the state guidelines.  
• Ice Surfaces – We conduct maintenance and cleaning hourly or between group uses.  There will be no contact allowed between participants.
• Handwashing – Staff has been instructed to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water frequently throughout the day, especially at the beginning of their shift, prior to meals and after using the restroom.  Alcohol-based (60 to 70 percent) hand sanitizer “stations” have been placed throughout the facility.
• Respiratory Etiquette- Workers and patrons will be instructed to cover their mouths and noses with their sleeves/elbows tissues when coughing or sneezing to avoid touching their faces.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Face masks will be required for workers responsible for cleaning and/or disinfecting and for those with any exposure to the public.  Gloves will be required for those performing cleaning tasks, and hands should be washed following their use. 

Hockey

• Players will be allowed entry to the building 20 minutes prior to their ice rental time and will be required to exit 10 minutes after their rental.
• Will be encouraged to arrive dressed to access the ice and to minimize the use of the locker rooms.
• Usage of 6 stations with 3 participants per station.
• Limit coach and player contact.
• Avoid utilizing benches.
• No spectators will be allowed in the building.
  • Children 14 and under are allowed to have 1parent per child.
• Youth Hockey 
  • Reduce physical closeness of players 
  • Players not actively participating must maintain 6 feet away from one another on the side lines 
  • For young players parents must monitor children to make sure they are maintaining safe distance from one another 
  • Limit non-essential visitors, spectators, volunteers 
  • Compete against teams only in area 
  • Face coverings worn by coaches, youth sports staff, officials, parents, spectators 
  • Clean and disinfecting of shared objects and equipment 
  • Schedule for cleaning and then I’ll disinfecting 
  • Use of gloves when handling trash and trash bags followed by hand washing 
  • Discourage use of sharing items- sticks, equipment 
  • Ensure ventilation in building 
  • Avoid group events, games, competitions, social gathering 
  • Have a designated COVID-19 point of contact 
  • Notifying staff, officials, families of youth teams rules for sports facility  closures and restrictions 
  • Symptom checking of coaches, officials, staff, players 
  • Close off areas that are infected with sick person contact

Figure Skating/Learn to Skate

• Will be allowed entry to the building 20 minutes prior to their ice rental time and will be required to exit 10 minutes after their rental.
• Shorten programs and stagger ice times to create a buffer between sessions.
• No spectators will be allowed in the building.
• Divide coaches and skaters into “training groups”, if ice can accommodate.
• Number and assign each coach a designated area along the boards where they must stand to teach private lessons.
• Coaches must remain in the area and may not skate alongside any student.
• Limit coach/skater contact; coaches should not help students up unless the student is unable to get up.  Coaches should use verbal cues when instructing students rather than physical contact.
• All warms up should be done prior to entering the rink’s facility

Communicating to Our Customers

• Provide communication to our customers and user groups via email, social media and on our website to inform them of our reopening plan- how we will protect them and what to expect when they return to our facility.  They need to feel safe upon their return, trusting that we care about their wellbeing.
• Display new customer-centric signage in our facility (handwashing, social distancing, etc.)
• Staff will be trained to give friendly reminders to customers regarding policies, especially when they are found to be in violation of safety precautions.
• Will require sick employees to stay home and ensure that sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance.
• Encourage employees to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and require that employees report when they are sick or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• Prior to reopening our facility, we will train all staff via email, and/or conference call regarding new procedures for COVID-19 response.
• Schedule limited staff essential for operations and upholding proposed plan.

Food Establishment Snack Bar 

• Designate work zones for employees- cook, cashier, sanitizer
• Reduce shared equipment, sanitize between uses or shifts 
• Use of single use equipment- Silverware, condiments, carry out, 
• Employees must wear a mask that covers mouth and nose at all times 
• Gloves will be required and replaced frequently 
• Snack bar will be disinfected between shifts and hourly 
• Disinfecting of high transit areas, touched surfaces, credit card machines, counters, order areas 
• Reusable food utensils are properly washed and sanitized often and between shifts 
• All food will be inspected for expiration, spoilage, damage 
• Frequent hand washing of all employees for 20 seconds 
• Avoid use of outside food and beverages being brought into the facility 
• Installation of physical barrier between employees and customers 
• Food pick up areas with physical distancing 

Phase 1 Restrictions (First 2 weeks dates TBD)

• Max of 15 skaters per each arena including coaches, permitted on ice at one time
• Offering individual-based programming with staggered start times and participant limits.
• There will be a reduction in the facility capacity and a limit on operational hours.
• Reduction of program sizes and an increase on instructor ratios
• Increased time between groups to facilitate social distancing and cleaning/sanitizing
• Restrictions on time in locker rooms and common areas
• Guests over the age of 10 will be required to wear a face mask (exceptions for hockey)
• Only one parent will be allowed per child for all activities
• Use of marked seating to allow social distancing will be implemented
• Use of showers prohibited
• No public skate
• Hockey games and league play will not be permitted at this time.
• Stick time participants will be required to sign up on our website prior to arriving for the session.

       Recommend partially dressing prior to arrival at rink

 Learn To Skate Basic Skills Registration Now Open 

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