Once the current crisis has been contained, we will all look back at 2020 as the year of the COVID-19 outbreak, but also as a time of unprecedented change. As of January, the world was thrust into a crisis with many deaths. As per sacoronavirus.co.za, in South Africa alone we have 7220 confirmed positive cases and 138 deaths. Globally, 3,671,540 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed with 253,318 deaths.

Your members' health and safety should you be your main focus when reopening your co-working space. 

Be sure to bolster the cleaning hours of your space, during opening hours to the public, and after. 

• We recommend constant cleaning of frequently used surfaces and crowded spaces with the correct viral products supported by the government.

• Implement cisterns with sensors in basins to diminish constant contact.

• Ensure that you provide disposable towels in both bathrooms and kitchens and hand dryers to avoid contact. 

• Wash dishes and kitchen utensils at 60 degrees temperature.

• Empty and clean any fridges daily.

• Ensure that you disinfect meeting rooms and Skype booths after every use.

• Follow up on your cleaning efforts and area with a visible control sheet and indicate the dates and times after each clean as well as the name of the person in charge of disinfecting the area at that time.

Air conditioning and ventilation play a crucial role in the spread of the COVID-19 virus. 

• We recommend increasing the air renewal through air conditioning recuperators and installing mobile ones wherever necessary.

• Increase your system maintenance and filter cleaning using proper virucides.

• It's a good idea to introduce plants that naturally purify and regenerate the air.

• Ensure that you ventilate all spaces efficiently and daily.

Access Control.

During the various levels of de-escalation, ensure that you employ a security check at reception. 

• Install partitions at reception and shared desks to protect employees and members.

• Consider gleaning the personal environment and precautions of each member by way of a confidential interview.

• Implement access and exit control at reception to control the flow of bodies at all times.

• With regards to packages, try asking members to limit their orders to the co-working space and advise them that any containers will be disinfected with biocide spray.

• As for external visitors, promote the use of online meetings and the case of visitors arriving for members, ensure that you have an electronic monitor to take temperatures.

Redistribute the space.

Even at the time when we reach level 1 and beyond, we advise maintaining sufficient levels of social distancing to avoid infection. 

• Increase the distance between your work stations to 2 meters.

• Ensure that you clearly indicate routes with coloured signage to maintain distances.

• Indicate any flex positions with colourful signs.

• Implement screens or partitions for your shared tables. 

• If you work stations capacity decreases as a result of space redistribution, move as many positions to meeting rooms or common areas temporarily. 

• With regards to private spaces or offices, assess each case by case to ensure proper distancing and let all members know that these measures are in place for their safety. 

• With your common areas, limit the capacity according to the de-escalating phase.

• Regarding the use of meeting rooms, support online meetings and, if this is not possible, limit the capacity for distancing and disinfect the rooms after each use.

  
  

Additional Measures. 

• Distribute protection kits to each member and person in the space, including a reusable mask, hand sanitiser and disposable gloves. 

• Install disinfectant gel dispensers at reception, meeting rooms, Skype booths, the kitchen, bathroom (along with soap) and common areas.

• Invest in an infrared thermometer to measure body temperatures. 

• Cancel any external and community events and opt for webinars.

• Ensure that you effectively communicate your precautionary measures to all coworkers and ensure that they're aware of your plan.

  
  

Conclusion

Lastly, we recommend not making any significant investments in any changes, especially those affecting the layout and design of your space, because they'll be temporary changes should a vaccine be found.