SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS STATUTORY  RULES  AND  ORDERS No. 58 of  2020

SAINT  CHRISTOPHER  AND  NEVIS STATUTORY  RULES  AND  ORDERS No. 58 of  2020

COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Act (Amendment of Schedule) Order, 2020

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 27 of the COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Act, No. 16 of 2020, the Minister makes the following Order:

[Published 29^th December 2020, Extra-Ordinary Gazette No. 94 of 2020]

1. Citation.

This Order may be cited as the COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Act (Amendment of Schedule) Order, 2020.

• Interpretation.

In this Order, “Act” means the COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Act, No. 16 of 2020.

• Amendment of Part I of Schedule IV.

The Act is amended in Schedule IV by replacing Part I with the following new Part I

“SCHEDULE IV

Part 1

Application and Protocol for Hotel Industry

(section 14)

1.          Protocol for Hotel Industry Sector  Requirements Accommodations              1.              Legal Compliance

1. Employees must be given appropriate PPE to complete the task assigned by the Employer.
2. All establishments must adhere to the laws of St. Kitts and Nevis and are required to have the following:

i. Food Handlers Permit for all employees preparing food ii. Business Licence iii. Health Certificate iv. Fire Certificate

                                   v.           St. Kitts Tourism Authority/Nevis Tourism Authority

“Tourism Approved” Seal

• Employer must pay special consideration to declared high risk employees/customers in the following categories: i. Over the age of 60 ii. Hypertensive

iii. Diabetic iv. Pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma

• All staff members must complete the mandatory training for the sector offered by the St. Kitts or Nevis Tourism Authority.
• Operation must keep a record of all customers/guests for contact tracing purposes.
• Management of any relevant business must ensure that the business is in possession of a valid business licence.
• All staff who are non-nationals must possess a valid permit or legal work status through residency.
• Retail Operators must submit a complete COVID-19 Action plan, for their business, to the Department of Environmental Health for review and approval, prior to opening.
• The plan must entail the following:
  • Implementation of a robust continuing education and training system for the business or establishment to minimise risk and exposure to COVID-19.
  • Implementation of a crisis management plan that includes the following:·
    • Communication plan: Adequate communication measures between managers, supervisors, and staff to ensure proper functioning and rapid information exchange in the business or establishment and ensuring proper understanding of protocols including measures for crisis management.·
    • Protocols for Sick Employees:
      • Sick Employees must remain at home.
      • Staff must be adequately sensitized about the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and be able to identify both guest and staff exhibiting symptoms.
      • Emergency Numbers for Government Agencies (e.g. Police, Fire and Rescue, etc.)– must be available and readily displayed.
      • Emergency contact for Doctors – must be available and readily displayed.
      • Adequate management of suspected COVID-19 cases.
• Adequate posters and information should be placed in and around the business or establishment to provide relevant information or reminders on COVID-19 action plan for both guest and staff (e.g. frequent handwashing, frequent use of hand sanitizers, cough, and sneeze etiquette etc).
• Frequent cleaning and disinfection of all frequently touched surfaces (e.g. counters, handrails etc.). Cleaning shall be completed every 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• All customers must sanitize their hands before entering the establishment.
• Action plans must be flexible and continuously updated as new information becomes available and shall form part of staff orientation and briefing.
• Management must ensure that staff maintain safe distance during any transaction (minimum three 3 feet).
• Cashiers shall sanitize hands after each transaction.

                                   2.          Health and Safety

Guests

1. All guests are required to wear a mask when in public areas.
2. Guests are required to sanitize or wash their hands when entering and leaving restaurants and boutiques and other public areas.
3. Guests who exhibit symptoms whilst on property are to immediately inform hotel management and shall be quarantined or isolated in assigned rooms.

Employees

1. Employees must wear surgical masks when entering the property and when interacting with guests.
2. Employees are required to change out of uniform and shower prior to departing the property.
3. Employees shall be required to undergo mandatory testing for COVID-19 or any other contagious illness such as H1N1 before they are permitted to work if they displayed symptoms of any of the mentioned illnesses.
4. All employees must wash hands before and after interacting with guests.
5. Employees must wash hands frequently throughout the day. Hands must be washed with soap and water for a minimum of twenty (20) seconds and should be dried with a disposable paper towel.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

1. Staff shall wear any combination of the following PPE based on the task they are completing:
   1. Surgical mask
   1. Face shield
   1. Goggles
   1. HAZMAT suit
   1. Sleeve guards
   1. Disposable gloves • Shoe sleeves
2. All guests and employees are required to wear surgical masks when in public areas.
3. If interacting with guests in quarantine employees will be required to wear surgical masks and disposable gloves.
4. Employees are required to wear gloves when handling food and serving guests food and beverage and when necessary.
5. Please note the following guidance for the use of disposable gloves:
   1. Polyethylene, latex (without powdery substance), vinyl

– Food Preparation

• Rubber- Cleaning and disinfecting
  • Latex- waste disposal
• Employees shall be required to wear full PPE attire if required to interact with a guest in isolation. These shall include:
  • Surgical mask
  • Face Shield/ Goggles
  • HAZMAT suit
  • Gloves
  • Sleeve guards
  • Shoe sleeves

Physical Distancing

1. Signs shall be prominently placed around the property outlining physical distancing requirements.
2. All furniture in public areas shall be arranged to follow social distancing guidelines. Where this is not physically possible, barriers must be erected to separate guests who are not of the same household/party.
3. Demarcations shall be placed on floors outlining physical distancing requirements of a minimum of 6 feet/2 meters.
4. Employees shall always practice physical distancing. Congregating of employees to socialize without meeting physical distancing requirements is not permitted when they are on duty.

Reporting – Health Monitoring

1. Each accommodation of 50 rooms or more shall have a fulltime nurse on staff and a doctor on call.
2. Manager on duty shall keep a log of all guest complaints and shall refer guests to on call nurse or doctor to report any health condition.
3. The hotel nurse or doctor shall keep a log of all reported health related reports to be inspected by the Ministry of Health.

Case Notification

1. If there is a suspected case at the accommodation, the hotel management and employees shall complete the following: i. Place the guest in isolation ii. Deny all employees access to the isolated guest
2. Nurse on duty shall contact the Director of Community Health Services (DCHS), Ministry of Health.  Guest will be tested, and Nurse will conduct testing and ensure management of case.

Room Recovery Procedure

a) In the event of a suspected and or confirmed case of COVID-19, the affected guest room shall be removed from service for 48 hours after cleaning and disinfection. The guest room shall not be returned to service until undergoing an enhanced cleaning and disinfecting utilizing approved products within guidelines.

Property

1. Each establishment shall identify an appropriate number of quarantine and isolation rooms and procedures for guests who may develop an illness while at their property. These rooms must not be used in the general room stock.  Procedures must be included in the guest welcome package.
2. Each establishment must have an established health and safety policy that is updated annually, before November of that year, that outlines the following:
   1. Testing for COVID-19 and the clear assignment of cost.
   1. Quarantine and isolation areas iii. Name and telephone number of staff nurse iv. Name and telephone number of on-call doctor
   1. Policy and procedures for staff members who become ill (e.g. contraction of COVID-19) as a proven result of contact with guests.
   1. This policy must be communicated to all staff members.
3. Hand sanitizer shall be placed throughout the place of accommodation. Use of hand sanitizer will be required when entering restaurants, bars, boutiques, and other areas. All guests are asked to use the hand sanitizer each time they visit one of these outlets. Employees are also required to practice regular hand washing and sanitizing procedures.
4. A checklist must be available to employees to log times when areas are cleaned. This must be presented to any inspector under the Authority of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Nevis Tourism Authority  or the Ministry of Health.

Transportation

1. Taxi Operators must adhere to established protocols for taxi and tour bus operators which include the following:
   1. Operators must maintain a list of all passengers they move from point A to B for traceability purposes.
   1. Vehicles must have Velcro or plexiglass approved divider.
   1. All passengers and drivers must wear a surgical face mask.
   1. All vehicles must have a minimum of two (2) hand sanitizers, one for the guest and one for the driver.
   1. Vehicles must be disinfected before and after each trip.
2. On-property transportation will be sanitized after every use. Travel in the same vehicle will be limited to guests sharing a room.
3. Employees must complete training on housekeeping, hygiene protocols, and COVID-19 awareness.
4. Shuttle services shall be limited to guests sharing a room and disinfecting of contact points will be in place.

3. Front of the House – (Front Desk, Lobbies, Public Areas, Guest rooms, Restrooms, etc.)

                            A.  Check-in to Check-out

Lobby

1. Each establishment shall have a hand sanitizer/hand washing station on the exterior of their establishment to facilitate the washing of hands for the public, taxi operators and other service personnel.
2. Hand sanitizer stations must be erected prominently in the lobby and shall be clearly labelled with clear instructions.
3. Furniture in the lobby shall be arranged to encourage the physical distancing protocols of 6 feet.
4. High touch areas in the lobby such as counters, telephones and elevator buttons shall be disinfected/sanitized every 30 minutes to one hour.
5. Guests and employees are required to wear a surgical mask when in the lobby area.
6. Floors shall be clearly marked outlining 6 feet distances to encourage social distancing especially in areas where queuing is possible.
7. Each chair or sofa of non-fabric surfaces must be wiped  at a minimum of every 30 mins to 1 hour or after use by each guest.
8. Fabric furniture shall be steam cleaned a minimum of twice per week in high capacity instances.

Bell Station

1. All luggage should either be sprayed with a disinfection spray after off-loading, or wiped, with a minimum of all handles and corners carefully wiped with surface sanitizer.
2. Bellmen shall wear surgical masks, face shield and disposable gloves when handling the personal items of guests and when interacting with them.
3. Disposable gloves are to be removed immediately after serving guests who are sharing a room.
4. Bellmen are not permitted to enter a room with guests. Luggage shall be placed at the room door.
5. Staff handling luggage should wear disposable gloves, discard right after each use and sanitize or wash hands immediately, before and after handling the luggage.

Front Desk

1. A Plexiglas divider shall be used to create a separation between the guest and the hotel employee.
2. Front desk staff shall always wear a surgical mask when interacting with the staff.
3. Each counter-top shall be wiped every 30 mins to 1 hour minimum.
4. Hotels are asked to provide contactless check in where possible.
5. Front desk team members shall practice social distancing including utilizing every other workstation to ensure separation between employees whenever applicable and possible.
6. The use of technology to reduce direct contact with guests, lobby population and front desk queue will be used where feasible.
7. The use of contactless payment processes is encouraged, and when not available, team members should minimize contact as much as possible. Copy of bills shall be slipped under the door of the guest room the night before checking out.

Elevators

1. Employees shall not share elevators with guests.
2. Elevators are to be disinfected every 30 minutes using the cleaning procedures outlined in this document paying attention to elevator buttons and handrails.
3. Guests must wear a mask when entering the elevator and shall wear it for the duration of the elevator ride.
4. Each facility should state clearly what is the capacity of the elevator. Signs should be placed on the inside and outside of elevator. Property should mark flooring inside the elevator to indicate to guests where they should stand. Markings shall be based on capacity of elevator.  See examples below

:

Public Restrooms

1. Employees and guests shall not use the same restroom.
2. All public restrooms shall be cleaned prior to the opening of the establishment each day and as per cleaning guidelines and checklist.
3. A cleaning schedule with accompanying checklist must be kept and must be made available for inspection by the Ministry of Health, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority or Nevis Tourism Authority.
4. Schedules and Checklists shall reflect increased frequency of cleaning for high touch areas.
5. Restrooms shall be cleaned with hospital grade or approved bleach solution every 30 minutes with high frequency usage, paying attention to the following high touch areas:
   1. Door handles
   1. Stall handles
   1. Toilet handles
   1. Toilet seats
   1. Faucet handles
   1. Soap, water, and disposable paper towels shall be provided in all restrooms.

                            B.                   Guestrooms

General

1. Guest rooms shall be equipped with QR codes to give guests access to information such as excursion packages, general hotel information and in room dining menus where possible.
2. Information items in guest rooms shall be limited to destination brochures and in room menus in easy to clean materials e.g. laminated pouches or booklets (non-fabric).

Cleaning

1. All rooms shall be cleaned with minimum hospital grade disinfectants. Bleach and alcohol solutions may be used as approved by the Ministry of Health.
2. Rooms will be serviced based on a schedule as agreed upon with the guest to ensure social distancing and limitation of exposure to COVID-19.
3. All employees shall clean rooms only when the room is vacant. Employees shall wear surgical masks, face shields and aprons and use disposable gloves when cleaning the room of a guest. A sleeve guard must be worn if uniform is short sleeved.
4. All rooms shall remain vacant for a minimum of 24 hours before they are rebooked.
5. When cleaning, employees shall pay attention to high touch areas, including:
   1. Door knobs
   1. Telephones
   1. Lamps
   1. Toilet seats and handles
   1. Faucets
   1. Furniture
   1. Light switches
   1. Flooring
   1. Remote control devices
6. A different cleaning cloth shall be used to clean each room on a shift to avoid cross contamination. After use cleaning, a cloth shall be placed in a garbage bag to be sanitized with a minimum hospital grade sanitizer.  Cloths should not be disinfected with linens.
7. Bed linen shall be stripped and placed directly in a laundry bag and tied.  Housekeepers are to ensure they do not shake the bed linen upon removal and shall always exercise caution when removing the bed linen.
8. Carpets shall be cleaned and disinfected by vacuuming daily and steam cleaned after the checkout of each guest.

                                   4.       Recreational Areas- (Beach Areas, Pool Side, Arcade Room, etc.)

1. Beach
   1. Employees are required to wear surgical masks when interacting with the guests.
   1. All beach chairs must be sanitized before and after use by each guest using a mixture of detergent and hotel grade or bleach solution.
   1. All beach chairs must be sanitized at the beginning of the day before use by any guest.
   1. Beach chairs must be separated at 6 feet/ 2 meters apart or more.
   1. Employees must wash/sanitize hands before and after servicing guests.
   1. Employees must wear gloves when interacting with guests.
   1. Beach towels must not be left in the open and stored in a previously cleaned and sanitized, covered linen bin.
   1. Beach towels are to be made available to guests on request only.
2. Pools/Poolside
   1. Pool access granted by reservation only. This is to ensure physical distancing protocols are followed.
   1. Pools must be cleaned and sanitized as per international standards of use and records kept for monitoring
   1. Pool attendants must wear surgical masks when interacting with the guests and wash their hands before and after serving guests.
   1. Pool parties are not permitted for guests who are not of the same party.
   1. All poolside chairs must be cleaned and sanitized before and after use by each guest.
   1. All poolside chairs must be cleaned and sanitized at the beginning of the day before use by any guest.
   1. Pool chairs shall be separated at six feet apart or more.
   1. Pool towels shall not be left in the open but shall be properly stored in a clean covered linen bin.
   1. Pool towels shall be made available upon demand only.
3. Spa

Treatments not permissible include

1. Facials
   1. Facial waxing
   1. Steam rooms
   1. Saunas
   1. Inhalation rooms
   1. Ice rooms

Health and Safety:  Locker Rooms, Wet Areas, Relaxation Lounges

Locker Rooms

1. Tours of the locker rooms shall be conducted only after the guest has changed into robe and slippers to avoid the guest walking with their shoes around the wet areas.
2. Lockers must be assigned to each guest in consideration of appointments and social distancing guidelines.
3. Lockers must be sanitized after each use by the attendants.
4. All lockers should be pre-locked to avoid guests from changing assigned lockers or from touching contents inside lockers not assigned.
5. Mouthwash and toothbrushes should only offer upon request.
6. All areas should contain hand sanitizing stations & sanitization wipes.
7. Attendants must wear proper PPE such as disposable gloves and surgical masks when removing dirty linen and items from linen baskets or trash cans.
8. All door handles and doors must be sanitized on a regular basis. It is recommended once every 30 minutes.
9. Once per hour vanity area shall be cleaned and disinfected.
10. Ensure that all guests wear towels while using thermal experiences.

Wet Rooms

1. Ensure that wet areas are set to the correct temperatures as high temperatures are known to kill germs and common viruses:
   1. Steam Room 110-115 F
   1. Sauna 150-175 F
   1. Infrared Sauna 120-130 F
   1. Jacuzzi 100-104 F
   1. Cold Plunge 50 – 55 F
2. Sterilize all areas overnight by utilizing ozone machines or appropriate chemicals.
3. Limit thermal use to one guest per booked appointment slot, with time in-between sessions for cleaning

Relaxation Lounges

1. Space out all furniture to comply with social distancing guidelines.
2. Remove blankets, neck pillows and extra cushions from lounges and chairs.

Pre-Arrival

1. All guests shall be required to make a reservation for all services.
2. Reservations shall be made a minimum of 24 hours in advance.
3. Guests shall be required to complete a form and to complete a health check before proceeding to any treatment. The form should require customers to indicate if they have any of the following symptoms: Common symptoms include:
   1. High temperature/fever – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature).
   1. A new, continuous dry cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual.
   1. Tiredness.

Other symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath
  • Aches and pains
  • Sore throat
  • Diarrhoea, nausea, or a runny nose
  • Loss of sense of smell and taste

Check-in

1. Guests’ temperatures will be checked prior to treatment as a precautionary measure.
2. Guests will be required to wear surgical masks to enter the Spa.
3. Guests are required to sanitize their hands when entering the Spa.
4. Staff PPE will include the following to be discarded after each treatment:
5. Disposable gloves (Rubber – Cleaning and disinfecting and Latex

– waste disposal).·

• Surgical masks

g) Face shields Treatments/ Services

1. Treatment rooms and nail stations must be sanitized at the start of the day and after each treatment, replacing all linens with freshly laundered items.
2. The number of blankets, towels etc in use to be minimized to reduce surfaces and maximise use of disposable paper or similar coverings for beds and seats.
3. Paper towels shall be replaced and Spa linens shall be replaced after each treatment and washed.
4. Spa attendants shall exercise caution when handling all linen and towels.
5. Spa linen will be washed as per guidelines outlined under ‘laundry Service’ protocols.
6. Change rooms, lockers, and keys will be cleaned and sanitized after every guest use.
7. Bathrobe and towels will be placed in the lockers on demand only, to ensure that guest not from the same rooms are using lockers that are spaced at least 6ft/2 meters spaced.
8. Services will be offered by appointment only.
9. The number of individuals permitted in the Spa will follow strict physical distancing protocols. Allowing for 30 square feet for everyone in the SPA.