Public health is our top priority, and we take the safety of our customers very seriously. These set of policies and procedures aim to make a reasonable and considered assessment of the risks around providing all services at The Float Spa, specifically associated with coronavirus (COVID-19), and the measures we have put in place to mitigate those risks. We believe that the measures we have taken as described below reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus.
As a summary:
EVERYONE is temperature checked on arrival
Health declaration is required prior to entry
Hand sanitiser stations throughout
Yoga Mats are NOT provided – please bring your own
2m social distancing
Only 9 mat capacity in the yoga studio – reducing from 25.
Risk: transmission through close person-to-person proximity
Customers are admitted by appointment only. Appointments are spaced with significant intervals in between. This minimises the number of people on the premises at any one time, allowing maximum opportunity for social distancing.
Payment is taken online at the point of booking, which minimises the time required in interaction with staff upon arrival and leaving.
Customers have to agree to a specific health questionnaire prior to entry.
Instructions will be provided in advance by video instead of in person in the float room & sauna room (so a staff member does not need to enter the room with the customer, and time spent with the customer is minimised).
Customers are sent reminder emails in advance of their appointment which will tell them to watch the video.
Customers will be asked to arrive at the time of their appointment – this is a change of asking them to arrive early.
Only customers will be allowed into the premises (if they are accompanied their companion must wait outside, unless they need their companion to assist them in moving around the float spa safely).
Once they have had a temperature check, they will be encouraged to use the hand sanitiser which is positioned by the entrance door.
We have increase the distance between seating in reception to ensure social distancing if three or four customers from separate households are seated in reception concurrently.
We will provide signage in suitable locations to encourage risk mitigating behaviour among our customers and staff. These will remind people to:
a. Wait outside until invited into the premises
b. Maintain the recommended social distance from others throughout their visit
c. Any belongings to be placed in a bag and kept with you throughout your appointment
Risk: transmission through infected persons on site
The customer must complete a screening form declaring their health status prior to appointment, which will affirm that:
They will not float if they currently have COVID-19 or suspect that they may have it, or if they have had any of the following symptoms in the last 14 days, or if they have been in contact with anyone with these symptoms in the last 14 days:
• Continuous dry cough
• Fever / high temperature
• Loss of, or change in normal sense of taste or smell
• Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea (around 61% of cases have this too)
They will not come to float if they are self-isolating due to COVID-19, or suspected COVID-19.
They will not come to float if they have been advised to shield at home.
Customers have to sign to agree to specific behaviours prior to their appointment, which will include:
• They will not come to float if they develop COVID-19 symptoms after booking but prior to their appointment. They will inform us by phone as soon as they develop symptoms so that we can reschedule their appointment.
• They will inform us if they develop symptoms after they have their session so we can cooperate in tracing contacts if required. We have all contact details of every client that has ever set foot in The Float Spa.
Only customers will be allowed into the premises (if they are accompanied their companion must wait outside, unless they need their companion to assist them in moving around the float centre safely).
Risk: transmission through contact with contaminated surfaces
Customers appointments are spaced with significant intervals in between. This provides sufficient time for effective cleaning between customers.
Customers will have to sign to agree to specific behaviours prior to their appointment including:
• Using the hand sanitiser provided upon arrival in reception
• Covering their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze
• Avoiding touching surfaces unnecessarily
• Washing hands
• Considering wearing a face covering
• If they have recently been in an environment where there is a high risk of COVID-19 such as working a ‘frontline’ job in the NHS or care sector, they must change their clothes and shower before coming to the float centre.
• They must not come to float if they develop COVID-19 symptoms after booking but prior to their appointment. They must inform us by phone as soon as they develop symptoms so that we can reschedule their appointment.
10. Payment is taken online at the point of booking to minimise the number of customer touch points, and reduce the use of in-person cash or card payments.
11. Card machines are used for occasional in-person sales. We will encourage people to use contactless payment where possible and the card machine will be cleaned between each occasion it is touched.
12. Fresh equipment is provided for every customer (hand towel, bath sheet, petroleum jelly sachet, sealed earplugs).
13. A single clean drinking vessel will be put out for each customer at their appointment time. All other cups and glasses will remain in storage until they are put out, ensuring that no one else has touched them prior to use.
16. The float rooms have been designed and built to facilitate effective and rapid cleaning. Design measures include sealed seams, smooth surfaces, curved joints, and easily cleaned materials for walls, fixtures, and flooring (such as PVC, vinyl, stainless steel). Furniture is made of single piece injection-moulded plastic, and designed with smooth seamless curved surfaces.
The lighting in the float rooms is on an infrared sensor so that customers can enjoy the benefits of floating in reduced light without the need to touch a light switch.
The Float Spa is operated to the standards provided by the Float Tank Association of which we are a member.
Cleaning procedures have been designed, cleaning agents selected, and cleaning equipment chosen in line with industry best practice and FTA guidance, including considerations around minimum contact times (or 'wet times') required to inactivate enveloped viruses such as the coronavirus. Cleaning equipment such as tools and cloths are colour coded by use. Cloths are washed after a single use. All cleaning procedures and water sanitation procedures are documented in detail in writing, and a system is in place to record when each task is completed.
Surfaces in the pod are of particular note because they are relatively close to the customer and the customer spends a relatively long time in the pod. For this reason there are more likely to be oral fluid drops in the air within the pod and internal pod surfaces. To prevent future customers touching surfaces contaminated by previous customers we have introduced new measures. Between each customer all internal surfaces of the pod will be sprayed with a 0.5% Hydrogen Peroxide and left for a contact time of greater than one minute before wiping down with a clean cloth (mask, gloves and goggles are worn during this process). 0.5% Hydrogen Peroxide has a contact time for inactivating enveloped viruses of less than one minute.
Risk: transmission through airborne droplets without person-to-person proximity
Customers appointments are spaced with significant intervals in between. This provides time to allow airborne droplets to precipitate out of the air and/or be purged through ventilation.
Customers will have to sign to agree to specific behaviours prior to their appointment , including:
Covering their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze
Considering wearing a face covering
Customers are also sent reminder emails in advance of their appointment which will encourage risk- mitigating behaviours.
Tissues are provided for customers
We will reiterate COVID-19 specific behaviour expectations to customers upon arrival.
We will provide signage in suitable locations to encourage risk mitigating behaviour among our customers and staff. These will remind people to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing or sneezing.
The Float Spa is operated to the standards provided by the Float Tank Association of which we are a member. We will allow 10 minutes to elapse after the customer has exited the pod, before we clean it. This is in order to allow airborne droplets to settle, as advised by the microbiologist on the board of the FTA. (Research suggests that in the absence of air movement oral fluid droplets precipitate in the time frame of 8-14 minutes).
Between each customer all internal surfaces of the pod will be sprayed with a 0.5% Hydrogen Peroxide and left for a contact time of greater than one minute before wiping down with a clean cloth (mask, gloves and goggles are worn during this process). 0.5% Hydrogen Peroxide has a contact time for inactivating enveloped viruses of less than one minute.
Suitable ventilation is used throughout the float spa to ensure airflow. This includes passive and active air vents in rooms, and manual purging though opening doors regularly. The float room design includes a purpose built high flow-rate intake and extract ventilation system with intake and extract connected to outside the building.
