Keeping You Safe: Covid 19

In Summary

1. Capacity restricted to ensure social distancing on the coach

2. Face Masks are Mandatory whilst on the coach

3. During a City/Attraction Tour, face masks are mandatory and the ‘Rule of 6’ applies

4. In wide open spaces such as areas where a hike is involved, face masks will not be mandatory

5. During your free time, you will be made aware of the current guidance from the UK Government and will adhere to the advice and law respectfully as adults

Full Covid-19 Secure Plan

Please refer to our risk assessments which demonstrate that all our trips are compliant with national and local restrictions and guidance around COVID-19 as part of a strong framework for safe participation.

Format: 

Typically, each trip comprises the provision of coach transport to the destination(s), two activities hosted by Rob and free time for students prior to their return by coach. Pre Covid-19, for tours of more than 25 customers, the host is accompanied by an assistant to help with general control of the overall tour participants. During Covid-19 restrictions, the host will be accompanied by an assistant for all trips.

Guided Tours of up to 30 customers are able to take place both indoors and outdoors, section 2.2.2 of The Visitor Economy guidance refers < https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/the-visitor-economy> . The ‘Rule of Six’ also applies along with any other local restrictions. For simplicity, Lundgren Tours will be treating all customers as if they are from different households for social distancing requirements when queuing for coach transport, when seated on the coach and during the guided tour content of our programme. Lundgren Tours shall make students aware of the social distancing requirements during their free time but adherence will be the students’ own responsibility during these periods.

General Risk Assessment:

Our general risk assessment for each trip includes mitigating actions to address each of the hazards and risks described.

These include:

• Customers not being able to find the coach pick-up point and /or being late returning to the coach
• Customers walking near to and/or across busy roads
• Slips, trips and falls during walks of moderate terrain
• Transport related accidents and
• Emergency procedures

Operating in a Covid-19 world

We have also taken further actions to ensure compliance with guidance issued by the UK Government ( Meeting Others Safely – Social Distancing < https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing> and the Scottish Government (Staying safe & protecting others < https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-phase-3-staying-safe-and-protecting-others/pages/staying-safe/> .

Specifically:

General Health – Customers have been requested to declare any specific medical conditions that we should be aware of as a mandatory part of the booking process. It is important that customers do not attend the tour if they are showing symptoms of Covid-19 (high temperature, new continuous cough or loss of taste or smell). Customers feeling unwell should contact Lundgren Tours by reply email, Facebook Messenger or phone prior to trip departure to avoid delaying coach departure. Customers notifying Lundgren Tours in advance of trip commencement will be offered the choice of a place on a later trip during the Semester post self-isolation or alternatively a full refund. 

We shall also be using a contactless thermometer to check customers’ body temperatures and screen for fever prior to boarding the coach.

Track & Trace – customer details including name, contact number and email address are captured as mandatory fields during the booking process. This information will be held for 21 days and be made available to the appropriate authority upon request, as necessary. In addition, Lundgren Tours shall also share the names of all trip attendees with Northumbria Students’ Union within 24 hours of completion of all trips.

Coach Transport – Customers will be required to wear face coverings when waiting for and then during the full duration of the coach journey. While waiting for the coach, customers will be encouraged to remain at the appropriate social distance from one another. Queuing is invariably in an outdoor setting and the use of face coverings will also mitigate. Hand sanitiser will also be provided at the front of the coach and customers will be requested to make use of this facility. On the coach, customers will be seated at 1m+ spacing, with the coach effectively operating at ~50% of maximum capacity in line with guidance provided by the Commercial Passenger Transport Association (CPT) to their members for private tour hire. A coach seating plan consistent with these guidelines has been provided for ease of reference:

Please see our Seating Plan for all of our trips below:

On the Ground – With 50% operating capacity, trips utilising a 53-seat coach will comprise 24/25 customers maximum + Rob as host and an assistant where appropriate.

Guided Tours in Cities and Towns – In built-up locations, customers will be asked to wear face coverings and observe social distancing of at least 1 metre while the guided tour is in progress. The tour guide will also wear a face covering for guided tours in cities. Tour routes have also been adapted to avoid potential crowding in restricted spaces. Should the total number of customers exceed 18, then the tour group will be split and the guided tour content repeated for customers electing to take free time.  

Guided Tours in Rural Locations – In these locations and particularly where hiking moderate terrain, then customers, tour guide and assistant may remove their face coverings provided that they remain at the appropriate social distance from each other and that the incidence of non-tour group personnel is very low. When tour guide stops the tour group to provide commentary, then face coverings should be used by all.