Covid-19 Updates from the BIAZA Office
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Covid-19 updates from the BIAZA Office BIAZA Office staff are working from home until further notice. If you need to contact a member of staff, please do so via their email address (which you can find here: https://biaza.org.uk/biaza- office) or via [email protected]. If you have an urgent concern you can contact Nicky (07593580591) COVID-19 Member Update – 10/05/21 Dear Members, There are a number of significant updates, in particular with relation to our members in England. Animal Welfare Strategy This week we are expecting significant announcements from the Government regarding animal welfare and, to a lesser extent, conservation. Today BIAZA met with Lord Goldsmith, the zoos minister, and many other leading animal welfare organisations to discuss the new strategy. Over the weekend, Born Free and a coalition of 50 organisations published their own thoughts on what the strategy should look like which can be read here. Some of the Government’s plans to recognise animal sentience have also been trailed in the media. BIAZA has fed into the announcements on a number of specific points and we will endeavour to share our thoughts with you when we are able to. 17 May confirmed for indoor areas in England In welcome news, the UK Government has confirmed that from the 17 of May indoor visitor attractions can open including aquariums, tropical houses and indoor areas within zoos and safari parks. BIAZA would like to remind members of its guidance for operating during the pandemic. We are also hoping to support reopening with a coordinated social media push on 14 May, get in touch for more details. Tickets are now on sale for the 2021 BIAZA virtual conference. Tickets for our BIAZA Annual Conference 2021 are now LIVE! The conference, themed around ‘renewed relevance’ will be an important opportunity to discuss the present and future shape of zoos and aquariums. Tickets are open to all, priced at £10 for staff at BIAZA members and £15 for non-members. They can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/.../biaza-annual- conference... Full agenda and information can be found here: https://biaza.org.uk/events/detail/biaza-annual- conference For queries, please email [email protected] - we can't wait to 'see' you there! COVID-19 Member Update – 07/04/21 Dear all, We have received new guidance from Defra that answers some of the questions about the guidance on maintaining records to support Test and Trace. The guidance asks that to support NHS Test and Trace you ask every visitor over the age of 16 (not just the lead member of the group) to provide their name and contact details or scan the NHS QR code using their NHS COVID-19 app. Keep these records for 21 days and provide data to NHS Test and Trace if requested. Zoos and aquariums are not explicitly mentioned, and Defra have confirmed that there is currently no legal requirement for zoos and aquariums to keep these records. However, they are constantly reviewing the scope of the regulations and it may be that zoos and aquariums are brought into scope in the future. You may, therefore, wish to voluntarily keep these records to assist in contact tracing and in case it does become a requirement in the future. Only hospitality venues have a legal duty to deny entry to those who refuse to provide their contact details. We are still seeking clarification if this includes restaurants/cafes/bars within attractions. Other venues in scope have a legal obligation to ask for these details, but the customer does not have to provide them if they do not wish to do so. This means that currently zoos and aquariums do not have to deny entry to visitors who refuse to provide contact details, however, this may change in future. Any errors in the data are the responsibility of the person providing it, not the venue. In other news, the government has published a summary of Spring 2021 roadmap reviews including Covid-status certification, global travel, events research and social distancing. COVID-19 Member Update – 31/03/21 Dear Members, Following a Cabinet meeting, the Irish Government has announced several important dates in the easing of lockdown restrictions. These include: • 12 April will see a relaxation of travel restrictions to enable travel within own county or within 20km, return to full in-school teaching, and mixing of two households outdoors in public outdoor spaces. • From 26 April outdoor visitor attractions including zoos can reopen. Amusement parks are not permitted to reopen. • On the 4 May the reopening of museums, galleries and libraries will be considered. All of these dates are subject to the conditions of the pandemic. (Note: we would expect that this would include indoor areas of zoos and aquariums but will seek clarity here) In England new visitor economy guidance has been published. Despite assurances from Government departments this still contains no explicit clarity regarding test and trace within zoos and aquariums. We will continue to keep you informed as we receive further updates but please don’t hesitate to contact us with specific queries and we will do all we can to help. Covid-19 Member Update – 29/03/21 Dear Members, Today there are a number of key operational updates members in England must be aware of ahead of reopening. To help your organisation we have put together a step to reopening guidance document, available here. There is a new requirement for venues to collect the name and contact details of all visitors over the age of 16 to support NHS Test and Trace. This is a significant change from previous policy which required venues to collect the details of one member of each group. We have confirmation from Defra that this applies to zoos and aquariums despite not explicitly being listed. You must ask every visitor over the age of 16 to provide their name and contact details or scan the NHS QR code using their NHS COVID-19 app. You must keep these records for 21 days and provide data to NHS Test and Trace if requested. Clearly this will require significant changes in admissions processes ahead of reopening. We have new clarity issued by DCMS on the use of displays, talks and presentations: Tours & trails From 29 March, outdoor, socially-distanced, organised activities including workshops such as photography, gardening, and crafts at heritage sites and other outside spaces allowed to open will be permitted. Other outdoor activities such as themed walking trails will also be permitted, including guided walks consisting of either a single permitted group or multiple permitted groups that are kept separate throughout the tour (in line with the gathering limits set out in the Roadmap). The tour guide does not count towards the Rule of 6 or 2 households limit. Demonstrations/feeding Zoos and other animal attractions should not be operating demonstrations or any other events, such as feedings sessions scheduled for public viewing, until Step 3. We understand this policy is to prevent the coming together and mixing of different groups, not just at the displays themselves but also as other points in the venue such as toilets, catering and entry/exit points. BIAZA is seeking clarity with Government departments where this leaves keeper experiences and pop-up displays, as we know these are major areas of concern for many members. Through-ways & indoor areas Zoos will be able to reopen outdoor hospitality and non-essential retail at Step 2, provided that these are in self-contained units and are directly accessible from the outdoors (i.e. without going through indoor attraction elements). Although visitor centres and other indoor attractions must remain closed at this step, toilets and through spaces (such as ticket halls) to toilets or to outdoor areas can open. Indoor hospitality within animal attractions will be able to open in Step 3, alongside indoor attractions. Covid-19 Member Update – 03/03/21 Dear all, Today the UK Chancellor has announced an extension to the £100m Zoo Animals Fund after intense lobbying from BIAZA, as well as a number of economic measures to continue supporting the nation during this pandemic. Zoo Animals Fund The fund will reopen from tomorrow and will continue under its previous conditions (including the problematic 12 week reserves policy) until 30 June. BIAZA has welcomed this extension and we hope many more of our members will be able to make use of it over the coming months. However, we recognise that this is far from our calls to establish a new Zoo Recovery Fund. The Zoo Animals Fund continues to be a seriously flawed scheme and we will continue to lobby Government to establish a fund that would support the majority of zoo licence holders. BIAZA understands that over the course of the pandemic zoo licence holders have now been successfully supported in 100 instances (including the Zoo Animals Fund’s predecessor the Zoo Support Fund). We will be meeting with Defra officials for further clarity, including questions regarding existing claimants on the scheme and we look forward to updating you in due course. Furlough, VAT and other Support BIAZA welcomed the other forms of support announced in the Budget today and we will seek to ensure these apply as far as possible to the benefit of the sector. They include: • Extension of the furlough scheme until September. Government will introduce a phased-in system of employer contributions, with cost contributions of 10% in July, 20% in August and September. • Extension of the 5% VAT rate for another six months and a 12.5% rate for the following six months, • A business rates holiday until the end of June followed by a two-thirds discount until the end of the financial year.