Hi All
Thank you for doing your best to be compliant with mask wearing. Keeping it over both your nose and mouth wherever you go these days is becoming part of our daily life. We have updated our Group Class mask requirements and you will see these below in the email sent out to all the Class Leaders.
If Green Apple is the only place you venture out to and if you come directly from home and return home you will be in a very safe place.
We know “elderly people” will be encouraged to stay at home however we know how important it is to keep our natural immunity high, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) is now saying our long-term management of this pandemic and future virus outbreaks is to go back to the 3 basics that create a level of protection i.e. sufficient sleep, healthy food, and appropriate physical activity. So, attending Green Apple to keep your strength up and your circulation moving well plays a critical part in this right now.
If you are fearful of leaving home these days, ask to be transferred to our online program “Green Apple Home Health” with access, face-to-face, to your Green Apple trainer. We trialled this extensively in 2020 and although it isn’t quite the same as joining your friends onsite to do your exercises, it certainly reproduces our personalised service in your home and keeps you connected and on track with your strength and conditioning work.
If you attend classes upstairs it will be important to stay abreast of our latest COVID-safe measures. We want to be able to keep these classes available to you so please support the staff in anything they are asking you to do.
The email to Group Class leaders reads,
”As you know we are now experiencing altered circumstances in South East Qld due to high levels of Covid in the community.
Our Green Apple Risk Management policy has been updated to make every effort to protect both instructors and participants attending Group Classes. Now that it is recognised that COVID is airborne spread and the Omicron variant is very contagious we need special measures.
I understand that there will be members whom have been doing classes for a long time and may have their own ideas about what they feel they want to do and under what conditions they want to do it. Unfortunately managing risks is not something that is possible to compromise on until we reach herd immunity.
Please follow the specific directions below:
1. Announce at the start of class the current protocol to follow when participating in a Group Class upstairs. If participants have concerns about the conditions, please let them know that the only alternative I can see right now would be to postpone all classes upstairs while Omicron is flaring and re-introduce them once we feel it is safer to provide them.
2. Keep the windows and glass door open during the class and only close them if rain is coming into the class area. If you are taking Meditation, Yoga or Stretch and wish to reduce external noises please be creative in how you manage this.
3. Be responsible for helping participants comply with the safety procedures during the class by reminding them throughout to maintain the 1.5m breathing space between them, to avoid speaking, coughing etc if they have pulled their mask down for any reason, to position themselves where possible so they are not directly breathing towards someone else’s face.”
The whole objective of developing this protocol and asking participants to be mindful and to support and help us be able to continue providing classes in an INDOOR area is to reduce unnecessary risk.
Thanks too to those of you who contact me by email ([email protected]) to reach out or to share thoughts. It all helps!
Cheers
PS: One of the activities that we are delivering currently is an online program called Arthritis Moves. It’s a free service that is funded by the Arthritis Association and we have daily classes Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday. If this interests you, you would need to phone to enrol. Ask at reception for more information about this class. It’s not a an aerobic class. It is a supervised exercise session by one of the exercise physiologists or exercise professionals and provides access to a group activity. You do need to have an appropriate device so you can do this at home.