COVID-19 Safety Protocols
Please read the following safety protocols below. All protocols have been made with the safety of all students and instructors in mind.
1) No-one is permitted to come to dance if they have any cold/flu symptoms even if they are not COVID-19 positive. Including:
• Sore throat, cough, fever/chills, head or chest congestion, diarrhea.
2) Sick? Do not come to dance. Instructors and guests are responsible for assessing themselves daily for symptoms prior to coming to dance. Parents and caregivers are responsible for assessing their children daily before sending them to dance. An absent email notification must be sent to: elementsdanceterrace@gmail.com and all contact tracing will be done via our instructor’s attendance app on their phone/laptop.
3) All dance Instructors, dancers age 9+ must wear masks in all indoor areas of Skeena Middle School.
If a dancer or instructor develops symptoms at dance:
They will be given a mask (if they don’t have one already) and separated from others
Their temperature will be taken
The dancer’s parent or guardian will be contacted, and asked to have their child picked
up as soon as possible
Instructors will be asked to go home as soon as possible
The studio space will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
Exceptions to the mask policy include:
A person who cannot tolerate wearing a mask for health or behavioural reasons
A person unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person
If the mask is removed temporarily to engage in an activity that cannot be performed
while wearing a mask. For example:
Engaging in high-intensity physical activity (dancing)
If a person is eating or drinking
While providing a service to a person with a disability or diverse ability (for example, a
hearing impairment), where visual cues, facial expressions and/or lip reading/movements
are important
Any dancer with asthma or respiratory issues is not required to wear a mask.
Dancers age 2 – 8 are encouraged to wear a mask indoors, but are not required to do so. Mask
wearing remains a personal or family/caregiver choice for these dancers.
4) Strict physical distancing is no longer required, however, everyone will enter and exit via
designated entrance and exit doors and crowding will be minimized when possible. Please
respect each other’s personal space and use available space to distance yourself.
5) No parents or guardians will be allowed in the studio, only students and teachers.
6) Everyone will remove outdoor footwear and be required to sanitize or wash their hands upon
entering Skeena Middle School / the dance studio space.
7) Dancers will reduce bathroom time by coming to dance in their dance attire. Only 2 dancers
will be allowed in the bathroom at one time. Dancers will sanitize hands before and after using
the bathroom.
8) Windows will be opened to increase fresh air flow. Studio spaces without windows will have
an air-purifying fan running.
9) Detailed attendance will be taken of each class, for instructors and assistants in case of
contact tracing.
10) No sharing of snacks, water/drinks, chapstick etc. Shared exercise equipment will be
cleaned and disinfected and students are encouraged to wash their hands before and after use
11) No phones in the studio. If in need of emergency phones will be sanitized for use and then
hands will be sanitized afterwards.
12) The studio space including all touchable surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized at the
beginning of the dance evening and again at the very end of the night. Free Elements Dance
will use Clorox Bleach Floor cleaner, and Lysol Disinfectant wipes/spray.
13) COVID-19 exposure at dance:
If a dancer or instructor is confirmed to have COVID-19, and were potentially infectious while
they were at dance:
Public health will investigate to determine if there were any potential close contacts within
the studio
If it is determined that there are close contacts within the studio, public health will:
Notify Free Elements Dance and request information to assist with contact tracing
Provide guidance on what steps should be taken
If there is a positive case, the studio will notify the classes potentially affected whether
close contact or not, for transparency. The name of the positive individual will remain
anonymous.
Public health may then:
Recommend a 14-day self-isolation if necessary
Recommend self-monitoring for symptoms if necessary
• Provide follow-up recommendations if necessary
Parents, caregivers and families will be notified by public health if your child was determined to
be a close contact of a COVID-19 positive person.
If a dancer or instructor receives a call during a class notifying of a close contact with
COVID-19:
They will be given a mask (if they don’t have one already) and separated from others
The dancer’s parent or guardian will be contacted, and asked to have their child picked
up as soon as possible
Instructors will be asked to go home as soon as possible