COVID-19 Prevention Policy
I hope you are all safe and well?
Our main aim here at Cosinests is to keep our Customers safe and ensure they know how seriously we are taking the current pandemic with their health and well-being in mind.
Steps we are taking during COVID-19
- Temperature, by a non contact forehead thermometer, is checked every day
- Hand washing prior to the packing of each parcel
- Antibacterial gel used prior to packing also
- Sanitising and cleanliness of packing area and office checked daily
- Mask is worn while packing
- There is only one employee currently so social distancing in the workplace is not required, unless you count one of the cats that try to sneak in sometimes, but they are asked to leave
According to the WHO (external link), “The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low.” You can find the latest information on COVID-19 on the information pages of the UK Government (external link) and the World Health Organization (external link).
Public Health England (PHE) has said that, though there’s still a lot we don’t know about COVID-19, the amount of infectious virus on a contaminated surface is likely to have decreased significantly by 24 hours, and even more so after a further 48 hours. It assured us that all the appropriate infection and prevention control measures are in place with couriers and delivery services to reduce risk to the public. However, it’s best to follow PHE’s advice to wash your hands after handling any parcels.
How long can COVID-19 survive on surfaces? (Information dated 7 Apr 2020)
Recent research evaluated the survival of the COVID-19 virus on different surfaces and reported that the virus can remain viable for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel, up to four hours on copper, and up to 24 hours on cardboard. This research was conducted under laboratory conditions (controlled relative humidity and temperature) and should be interpreted with caution in the real-life environment.
As you may be aware, Cosinests is a Small Business run just by myself from my home office and at any point should myself or any of my family that I am in close contact with catch COVID-19 I will shut the business down for the time specified by the government guidelines and will not re-open until it is safe to do so.
Should any of my family have been close to anyone that has tested positive and is required to self-isolate to see if any symptoms do arise, I will notify customers to offer them the option of either:
- a full refund
- a 14 day holding of an order that will be posted once that family member is in the clear and no other members of the family have had any symptoms
- or follow all of the COVID-19 Steps (see top of policy) and post out as normal suggesting that on receipt the customer may want to wait 48 hours prior to unwrapping and to please dispose of packaging and always wash hands thoroughly.
What strange and unprecedented times we are in and I hope these guidelines reassure you that we are doing our upmost to ensure your safety and maintain our excellent gift service as best we can.
Jo/x
Cosinests
www.cosinests.com