RETURNING TO THE DANCE STUDIO DURING COVID-19

With Daniel Andrew’s announcement of children returning to school in the coming weeks, it is hopeful that our dancers may soon be returning to the studio also.

Returning to the dance studio is a scary time, particularly for the studio owners and teachers, as they want to ensure the safety of their students, whilst at the same time looking after their own health and wellbeing.

Over the past 9 weeks, as a podiatrist running a private practice,  I have had the personal experience of managing the health and well being of my patients, whilst also putting in place as many precautions to ensure my staff were not put at risk of contracting Covid-19.  As a medical practice, we already adhere to very strict infection control guidelines, but with the fear of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have been refreshing, retraining and self-assessing our infection control guidelines and adopting more thorough and vigilant practices.

Although we are fortunate our infection rate is very low, this is the time where we need to be as vigilant as ever as we relax the social distancing regulations.  Due to the unknown and limited resource guides on how to achieve this vigilance, I thought I would share some of my ideas on how to best manage the return to the dance studio.

 FACTS OF COVID-19 VIRUS

  • It is transmitted by droplets.

  • Particularly from the nose and mouth, via talking, coughing, sneezing etc.

  • Can be transmitted even if you are feeling well, you can be an asymptomatic carrier.

  • As far as we know, the only way to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is with strict social distancing.

At the dance studio, I suggest the following:

1.     No student, teacher or parent should enter the studio building if they have any of the following symptoms:

  • Coughing

  • Fever

  • Shortness of breath

  • Sore throat

 

2.     Treat everyone in the studio as if they are an asymptomatic carrier

  • Maintain strict social distancing of 1.5m

  • Ensure every person has at least the minimum four square metres of space to ensure that overcrowding doesn’t occur

  • No partner work

  • Increase the time between dancers in corner work to ensure a dancer doesn’t move through another dancer’s airborne droplets

3.     Reduce touching of communal areas and public surfaces by:

  • Keeping doors open

  • Use paper towel when entering and exiting the toilet

  • No changing places on the barre

  • No sharing of props or training aids

  • Encourage students to bring their own hand sanitiser into the studio with them for their own personal use after touching public surfaces or items 

4.     Clean, wipe, clean and wipe again.

  • Ensure all public areas are being constantly wiped down.

  • Have plenty of hand sanitiser on hand for everyone to use

5.     If a student or teacher is coughing in class, err on the side of caution and ask them to step outside and not return to the class until the cough has resolved and COVID testing has been completed.

6.     Masks should be considered to reduce the spread of droplets in the dance studio.

  • Remember the use of masks is to protect others around you, as you may be pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic Covid-19.

7.     Reduce or eliminate floor work to minimise the possible spread of the virus through the floor surface.

Some things to consider in getting students back into the studio may be:

  • Can you offer smaller classes?

  • Can you rotate students through the studio and continue to live stream the rest of the students in their home

  • Can you rotate students and teachers throughout the week, to prevent a crossover and full quarantine in the event of a Covid-19 infection?  (the team approach)

  • Encourage and remind students to keep their space, their hands and their belongings clean at all times.

  • Have students arrive dressed for class, don’t use communal change areas.

  • Discourage parents and siblings from entering the studio

 

Please be respectful of others during these unprecedented times, by following personal hygiene protocols, self-distancing recommendations and staying away if you are unwell.  Please take note and abide by the protocols adopted by your dance school and teachers to help in the fight against the Corona Pandemic.

Stay safe and healthy,

Kirstine Mann (Highett Podiatry – The Dance Clinic)

 

Kirsti Mann