Changes to tuesday coworking's Health & Safety Policy to combat the spread of Covid-19

As a result of COVID-19 we have implemented new procedures to help reduce the spread. This involves updating our Hygiene Concept / Healthy & Safety Policy on a regular basis. Conditions can change, please check back here frequently.

 

Update, Friday, 1 April 2022:

The powers that be (the Berlin Senate) have decided that today is the day that most Covid-related restrictions will be lifted and that a so-called “Basisschutz” or “Basic Protection” will be implemented. While this doesn’t mean we should start throwing our Philips Air Purifiers into the organic waste bins just yet, it does mean that you no longer have to wear masks around the spaces if you don’t want to and we are ending our 2G rule.

In general, however, it’s not bad policy to continue to open windows when we hear the bells and, as a common courtesy to the next member, to wipe down tables after use. And if you feel like you have a cold coming on, maybe consider working from home, thanks!

 

Update, Wednesday, 24 November 2021:

TLDR: From today onwards, anyone coming to any of tuesday’s coworking spaces will be required to be either vaccinated or recovered (2G).

2-minute read:

The Berlin Senate today implemented their 2G / 3G requirements for office spaces. This is to be applied everywhere where “physical contact” to others cannot be ruled out. As of today, Wednesday, 24 November, all of tuesday’s coworking spaces (Feurigstrasse, Belziger Str. and Bundesallee) will be “2G: Geimpt or Genesen” only. Testing on the day is not something we have the capacity to enforce, which is one reason why we have chosen not to implement 3G. The other is that since rapid tests can also be imprecise, 2G is simply safer than 3G (source: RKI)

This means:

  • you should have proof that you are vaccinated* or
  • you should have proof that you have recovered no sooner than 14 days and no later than six months after a Covid-19 infection

This applies to:

  • everyone who has a coworking membership
  • tuesday coworking staff and service providers
  • guests – if you are bringing guests, you must reserve a meeting room for the duration of their stay and ensure that they also adhere to the 2G rule. We recommend downloading the CovPassCheck app to scan QR certificates.

NOTE: Our relationship with you is not employer <> employee, but coworking space provider <> member. As such, we have no right to ask you for proof of vaccination.

tuesday’s existing Hygiene Concept (below) shall remain in place.

* If getting a vaccination poses to a risk to your own health, then we will of course not insist that you get one.

 

Update, Monday, 25 January 2021:

To comply with the new Covid regulations, we are integrating the mask specifications policy into our Hygiene Concept.

The full Hygiene Concept at tuesday coworking’s two spaces is now as follows:

  1. NEW: Wear either the FFP2 (pointy white) or blue medical masks (OP) when walking through the spaces. A cloth mouth & nose covering is no longer sufficient.
  2. Disinfect your hands using the automatic dispensers at the entrances when you arrive
  3. Check in online once you sit down at a desk via members.tuesdaycoworking.com
  4. Keep a distance of minimum 1.5 meters to your fellow coworker
  5. When you hear the bells (on the hour), the persons sitting closest to the windows need to open them for some impact ventilation (5 minutes).
  6. When you leave, wipe down your table using the disinfectant sprays and paper towels provided

The air-purifiers are now automatic and no longer need to be switched on or off.

Thanks for complying with these new regulations!

Update, 2 December 2020:

To meet the concerns of some members, we have made it compulsory to wear a mask at all times when not seated. We feel it’s not too much to ask to make everyone at the space feel comfortable about coming here. If you’re someone who likes to walk & talk on the phone a lot, you’re going to have to either sit down or muffle that mouth! 😉

Update, 5 November 2020:

Are you curious about what tuesday coworking is doing to restrict the spread of Covid-19 as much as possible? Our members know what to do:

– Wash hands
– Check in
– Open windows (hourly)
– Turn on air purifier/humidifier

We’ve taken these and more measures over the last few months to make sure our coworkers are as safe as possible when working at our spaces.

Update, 29 October 2020:

So, here we are again. Lockdown, but “lite”. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s today’s article in Die Zeit: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2020-10/bund-und-laender-beginn-von-kontaktbeschraenkungen-am-2-november

For those who prefer to consume their news in English: The federal states all got together today and decided that from Monday, 2 November, the entertainment, gastronomy and sports industries are all going into lockdown again. Although nothing is official just yet and my go-to source of information & interpretation, the Berlin Chamber of Commerce also needs to wait before they advise me anything, I thought I’d nip it in the bud and let you know of what will change for you as a member of tuesday coworking next week and what will stay the same:

Distancing:
Given that shops are allowed to stay open provided each customer has 25 square meters for themselves, I can imagine that a number of persons per square meter will be determined for spaces like ours, but since we have no way near the same amount of human traffic as retail, it’s probable that we won’t need quite as much space between people. Until further notice however, it will be business as usual in that regard. Just try to keep your distance to each other where possible.

Check In:
One thing we will be reinstating is our mandatory Check-In. We did this during the last lockdown in April. This means that you must check in on members.tuesdaycoworking.com when you arrive at the space. You don’t have to check out when you leave as this will happen automatically at midnight, but you can if you want to.

Ventilation and Air-humidifiers:
On top of the hourly ventilation, which I must say, you have all taken to like ducks to water (thank you!), air purifiers for the spaces will arrive in the next few days. They also act as air humidifiers. And, if you’re wondering, I’m still waiting for the CO2 monitors to arrive. This is, I’m confident, the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle for keeping the spaces as safe and as hygienic as we possibly can.

As always, if you have any suggestions on how we can further improve the spaces in this regard, please let us know. We’re always open to new ideas.

Stay safe everyone and let’s keep opening those windows!

Update, 21, October 2020:

We are doing our best to stay on top of things here at the spaces to make sure that we, the tuesday team, and you, the tuesday members, are as safe and healthy as possible.

To this end, we’ve taken some additional steps:

  • At all three spaces (Feurigstrasse, Belziger downstairs and Belziger upstairs), we have downloaded an app to the meeting room display tablets which makes a ding-ding sound every hour. This is a reminder that the person or persons closest to the window(s) should open the window to air out the spaces. 5-10 minutes is enough. This method has been shown to be more effective than air purifiers. Read more about this here: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/press/pressinformation/proper-airing-reduces-risk-of-sars-cov-2-infection
  • We also have three CO2 monitors which show exactly how effective airing the spaces is.
  • At Belziger Strasse in the downstairs kitchen, we’ve moved things around so there’s lots more space for you to make your coffee, tea and prepare any food for yourselves.
  • At the next opportunity, we’ll be moving the tables and chairs in the main room to be all facing the same direction.
  • As ever, there is always ample supply of hand sanitizer available at the entrances (please remember to use it when you arrive at the space) as well as desk sprays on or near most desks.

If you have any worries or suggestions you would like to communicate, we’re here and are open to implementing any changes we think could make a difference.

Thanks to everyone for your continued trust in tuesday and stay healthy!

Update, 9 October 2020:

Members and staff members are requested to wear mouth & nose protection (masks) at our spaces when both of the conditions below apply:

  1. They are walking around the spaces AND
  2. They cannot maintain a distance of 1.5 meters to others

Events at our Belziger Strasse space are limited to a maximum of 22 participants (including host(s)).

Update, 5 June 2020:

Meeting room bookings: In accordance with “Part 2 – Trade, Commerce and Social Institutions and Facilities § 5 Special Types of Commercial Enterprises, Culture and Special Hygiene Regulations” which is available on the Berlin Senate’s website here:

https://www.berlin.de/corona/en/measures/directive/#headline_1_6

tuesday coworking is now permitted to hold events and meetings at our spaces follows:

(3) Meetings, incentives, conventions, events, trade fairs and exhibitions similar to trade fairs, special markets and commercial leisure activities may be opened to the public from June 2, 2020. From June 2, 2020, up to 150 persons are permitted indoors and from June 30, 2020, up to 300 persons. The regulations of § 6 apply accordingly to food and beverage offers. For personnel with guest contact, § 2(4) number 9 applies accordingly. Outdoors, the above-mentioned events and meetings are permitted from June 2, 2020, with up to 200 people; from June 16, 2020, with up to 500 people; and from June 30, 2020, with up to 1,000 people.

In this respect, please note that in order to adhere to the recommended safety guidelines and distancing regulations, our meeting rooms now have a capacity of 8 (“Fire” on Feurigstrasse), 6 (“Earth” on Belziger Strasse) and 3 (“Air” on Belziger Strasse).

 

Update, 5 May 2020:

1. The guideline of two persons per room has been lifted.
2. We are adhering to the recommended distance of 1.5 meters from each other and have positioned our tables and chairs in such a way that this is possible to maintain over the course of the day.
3. Members are advised to wash their hands regularly and to wipe down the tables and armrests of the chairs before leaving the space. There is disinfectant and tissue paper readily available.
3. Both the Robert Koch Institute and the Berlin Chamber of Commerce agree: we don’t have to wear face masks at our spaces as we’re not a shop with hundreds of people coming through each day.
4. All of our bathrooms now have automatic hand towel dispensers.

 

Update, 22 April 2020:

1.    Social Distancing: The number of people who can be in our space at any time has been reduced by the number of desks in the respective space. All members still need to be at least 1.5 meters away from each other. In other words, every other desk is now unavailable. Tables have in any case been moved further away from each other where possible. In other instances, some chairs have been removed from tables (upstairs at Belziger Strasse) to ensure only one person sits there at a time.

2.    We are cleaning and disinfecting shared surfaces and high-touch areas on a regular basis. These include desks, doorknobs, buttons and switches, and kitchen and bathroom taps, as well as other areas. Members are requested to also wipe down any surfaces they come into contact with.

3.    We are providing members with tissues, paper towels and hand sanitiser. Soap is available at all sinks. We ask that everyone in the space thoroughly washes their hands frequently with warm water for at least 20 seconds and tries to avoid touching their face. Please also sneeze into a tissue or your elbow rather than your hand, then dispose of the tissue immediately and wash your hands.

4.    If a confirmed case of COVID-19 is present in our workspace, or individuals in our workspace have been exposed to a confirmed case, we will perform a full cleaning and disinfection of the respective space and notify all members.

If you have any questions, you can email John on info@tuesdaycoworking.com. Please check back often for updates.

‍In Berlin, the Coronavirus hotline number is: (030) 9028 2828
In the state of Brandenburg, the Coronavirus hotline is: (0331) 868 3777

 

Previous update 19 April 2020:

1.    Social Distancing: The number of people who can be in our space at any time is two per room and all members need to be at least 2 meters away from each other.

2.    We are cleaning and disinfecting shared surfaces and high-touch areas on a regular basis. These include desks, doorknobs, buttons and switches, and kitchen and bathroom taps, as well as other areas.

3.    We are providing the space with paper towels and hand sanitiser. Soap is available at all sinks. We ask that everyone in the space thoroughly washes their hands frequently with warm water for at least 20 seconds and tries to avoid touching their face. Please also sneeze into a tissue or your elbow rather than your hand, then dispose of the tissue immediately and wash your hands.

4.    If a confirmed case of COVID-19 is present in our workspace, or individuals in our workspace have been exposed to a confirmed case, we will perform a full cleaning and disinfection of the coworking space.

If you have any questions, you can email John on info@tuesdaycoworking.com. Please check back often for updates.