Health and Safety Update #2

By Carine Locher

Mar 18, 2020

VISAR is taking the COVID 19 threat very seriously. We have put several new procedures into place to ensure the health and safety for our crew, employees and for those that may call upon us in an emergency.

We are continuing to be proactive within the Territory, especially with the Government authorities to ensure that we can respond to all emergencies in a safe and capable way.

Meetings: As a crew, we are no longer meeting as a group rather all communication is done electronically, as individuals we are self-isolating if feeling under the weather so that we don’t impact the community. We’ve also asked the crew to only come to base when reporting for an emergency.

Employees: Our Operations Manager, Phil is currently working out of our Tortola Base, while the rest of the team works remotely. Phil is sanitizing the base and boathouse down throughout the day and before he leaves each night.  The Virgin Gorda crew have been supplied with cleaning products and instructions for sanitizing the base as needed.

Boat & Med Checks: Our routine weekly boat and medical checks are being done by one person at a time with all surfaces thoroughly sanitized afterward.

Emergency Response: Our callout procedure is the same, ie dial “767” to reach a coordinator, and they will answer and respond appropriately. We are in contact with the medical authorities and will be following their protocols with regard to transferring to their care. Both rescue vessels are equipped with extra N95 Masks and gloves.