HIDDEN GEMS UGANDA TREKS & TOURS LTD.

                                                

 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES DURING THE PERDEMIC AS RECOMMENDED BY MINISTY OF HEALTH.

 

 Tour Guide

 

Tour guides must ensure a firm commitment to risk management, executing the systematic implementation of measures from the contingency plan defined to prevent and reduce hygiene and health risks in their activity. To do so, they must:

 

 

 

1. Identify existing risks (routes to be followed, visits to monuments, possible crowding, group size, restrictions on the provision of certain tourist services, etc.)

 

1. Establish mechanisms for gathering information to make the best decisions to be adopted in their activity (specialists, destination managers, etc.

2.     Conduct a risk assessment to draw conclusions.

 

1. Design a contingency plan and implementation in coordination with stakeholders (service providers, authorities, other guides, etc.).

 

 

                      

  The contingency plan should include:

 

1. Identify existing risks (routes to be followed, visits to monuments, possible crowding, group size, restrictions on the provision of certain tourist services, etc.)

 

1. Establish mechanisms for gathering information to make the best decisions to be adopted in their activity (specialists, destination managers, etc.)

 

 

Conduct a risk assessment to draw conclusions.

 

Tour guides must establish the actions needed to acquire the resources provided in the contingency plan, as well as those recommended by health authorities (e.g. hand sanitizer, masks, gloves).

 

                        The measures to be adopted in the contingency plan must consider the following:

 

1. Gain information and training on health and hygiene risk prevention guidelines in the activity.

 Maintenance of Cleanliness of the Vehicles or Boats on trips.

 

1. Vehicles/boats are sanitized frequently. Particular attention shall be paid to disinfecting frequently touched areas and surfaces both internal and external such as door handles and arm rests.

 

1. Third party cleaners and car washers shall be encouraged to wear appropriate PPEs.

 

 

1. Guests are encouraged to bring their own water bottles.

 

1. Any provided water bottles or items shall be labeled with each guest name to avoid sharing or use by another.

 

1. Reusable food containers shall be sanitized regularly.

 

1. Binoculars, telescopes and cameras shall not to be shared and shall be sanitized regularly.

 

1. Blankets or ponchos are discouraged, however, where provided for guest use, they shall not be shared, and be disinfected/sanitized regularly.

 

1. Particular attention shall be given to luggage disinfection before and after handling.

 

 

1. All used PPEs (Gloves, masks, Tissues) and any other disposable material should be disposed of in a covered bin.

 

 

       Tourist Mobile Service & Transport Providers (Local Air Charters, Tourist Vehicle Service & Boat Operators).

 

                              Tourist service vehicles

 

1. Tourist Service Vehicle/Boat Operators shall be required to comply with the general provision this protocol and in addition;

 

1. Ensure TSVs/Boats are sanitized before the start of each trip and this will include cleaning and disinfecting of all surfaces (handrails, door handles, tables, seats etc.) at regular times in the course of trip

 

1. Ensure vehicles/Boats are sanitized between use by different guests/ clients.

 

1. hand sanitizers freely available on board for the guests to use throughout the journey.

 

 

1. Provide approved quality facemasks to guests on all trips on need basis.

 

 

 Carrying Capacity of Tourist Service Vehicles or Safari Vehicles & Boats

 

                         The Carrying capacity that ensures social distancing between guests travelling together, the maximum recommended capacity to be observed for each class of vehicle are as follows;

 

1. Customized Tour Vehicles (Land cruisers and Vans) 7 occupants including the driver.

 

1. Mini Vans, Coasters and buses, fifty percent of carrying capacity as per the MoWT guidelines.

 

1. Avoid greeting other tour guides, providers and visitors with physical contact, including shaking hands. Safe distances must be respected whenever possible.
    

If the tour guide experiences any symptoms of the disease, even if they are mild, they should refrain

 Established that partner restaurants follow likeminded health, sanitation, and food safety protocols to protect guests, such as:

 

1. Approved disinfecting products made available at entrance to guests in the form of alcohol-based hand sanitizer as appropriate.

 

1. Established with restaurant that restaurant staff are trained and adhere to likeminded health, hygiene, and physical contact guidelines.

 

1. Avoid guest own handling of food at buffets.

 

1. Regular cleaning of coffee/drinks machines operated by staff member.

 

1. Enhanced cleaning, including disinfecting of tables and chairs after guest has left and using dishwasher over hand-washing.

 

1. Minimized physical contact through table spacing and guest seating.

 

1. Considered minimizing what is placed on guest tables and provide mono packaged items if feasible.

 

1. Reviewed payment method to prioritize contactless and pre- payment methods.

 

1. Considered having longer opening hours to reduce the number of guests served at any given time and facilitate the implementation of the new measures.

 

1. from providing the service

 

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 The tour guide must inform clients about applicable prevention and hygiene measures, and also:

 

 

1. Restrictions, limitations or modifications to the service to prevent contagion.

 

The preventive measures taken by the tour guide during the tour and which must be adopted by the clients. The latter must be notified to clients before contracting the services

 

The tour guide must follow these preventive measures when designing activities:

 

1. Determine how the visit will be conducted and where the tour will go based on the risk assessment and the regulations and/ or possible restrictions applied by the various service providers (museums, monuments, national parks, etc.). For example:

 

1. Prepare one-way routes to avoid groups crossing whenever possible coordinating in any case with other tour guides.

 

 

1. Avoid areas likely to be crowded.

 

1. Avoid small spaces with limited capacity.

 

1. Wherever feasible, a single point should be established for getting on and off the vehicle in areas with more tourism in order to facilitate information, application of health and hygiene regulations and control application. This point should be agreed with the administration.

 

 

Walking tours and stops for explaining monuments must be done in open and/or wide spaces, respecting the safe distance

 

 

During the tour/visit

 

1. The tour guide must always appear calm and confident in applying this protocol. Clients must be reminded of complying with this protocol of measures during the tour.  Single-use headsets/whispers/radio guides should be used. If they are not single-use, the client will disinfect their hands before and after use. The client will return these devices, placing them all in a bag which will be sealed. Other alternatives can be considered, such as applications on the tourist’s mobile.

 

 

1. Printed material such as maps, brochures, etc. should be avoided. If this is not possible, they should be easy to clean and disinfect, or be disposable

 

1. The Tour Guide authorization, which must always be worn visibly during the service, must be correctly sanitized.

 

1. The tour guide who chooses to wear gloves must put them on in front of visitors and use them correctly, although hand washing before and after the visit and whenever equipment is shared is recommended.

 

Properly disinfected or

 

 

1. The planned schedule should be respected as much as possible to avoid incidents. Improvisations affecting the development and itinerary of the visit should be avoided.

 

 

1. The work of other colleagues and coordination with them must be respected, especially in places with narrow streets, access to monuments, etc.

 

1. The safe distance between the tour guide and clients, and between clients themselves, should be maintained throughout the tour. If this is not possible, a mask should be used and clients should be encouraged to use on too. Clients must be informed of this and whether they must bring a mask.

 

1. Transparent screens are recommended to facilitate communication with hearing impaired clients.

 

 

After the tour and during the farewell;

 

1. Avoid the use of cash and prioritize the use of cards,  or other electronic means, preferably contactless, when charging and paying for services and/ or providers (e.g. pre-payment online). If cash is handled, hands should be washed or disinfected as soon as possible.

 

Protective materials used (masks, gloves, etc.) must be disposed of properly

 

 

 

1. Handling Covid-19 Cases

 

 General Recommendations

 

If a guest or staff develops symptoms of acute respiratory infection, efforts should immediately be made to minimize contact of the person with all guests and staff. Management should follow the procedures in the action plan for the situation when a guest develops signs and symptoms indicative of COVID-19 as they contact the responsible health professionals.

 

1                     Separate the person from the other persons by at least 2 m (6 ft) in a designated isolation area.

 

.2                   Request the person to wear a mask and practice respiratory hygiene when coughing and sneezing.

 

If the mask cannot be tolerated by the ill person, provide tissues to cover mouth and discard the tissue immediately into a biohazard disposal waste bag or place it into an intact plastic bag, seal it, and consider it “biohazard” waste, wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

 

In case the person cannot wear a mask, direct contact with the ill person should be avoided unless wearing at least disposable gown, gloves, a mask, and eye protection.

 

4                     When attending to a guest or staff coming from an affected area who displays fever, persistent cough, or difficulty breathing, always use additional protective equipment, including mask, eye protection, gloves, and a gown.

 

5                    Remove PPE carefully to avoid contaminating yourself. Remove first gloves and gown, do

hand hygiene; next remove the mask and eye protection, and immediately wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub.

 

6                    Properly dispose of gloves and other disposable items that had contact with the person’s body fluids in biohazard bag or a secured plastic bag, which will be considered as “biohazard” waste.

 

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 Case of an Affected Worker

 

1                    If a member of the staff reports respiratory symptoms, the staff must immediately stop work

 

• Seek , medical assistance. The staff should stay isolated in a suitable room while the medical services are being notified.

 

 

2                    Staff who report from home that they are ill with respiratory symptoms should be advised to stay at home and seek medical attention.

 

3                    Staff who report from home that they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 should follow the instructions received from the health authorities, including the recommendation of self-isolation at home until fully healed.

 

 Case of an Affected Guest

 

If the person affected is a guest, continued stay of the sick person in the establishment is not recommended. The person can be isolated in a room on a temporary basis until the intervention of local health authorities, and provided the room is not shared with other guests. No visitors should be permitted to enter the room occupied by the affected guest.

 

Depending on the availability of rooms, accompanying persons, if any, should be moved to a different room.

Measures for the management of contacts can be referred to the health authority interim guidance on Home care for patients with COVID-19 presenting with mild symptoms and management of their contacts.