Buildings take extra precautions to keep residents safe
Buildings take extra precautions to keep residents safe
By Irish Mae Silvestre
The Philippine Reporter
Friday (March 20) afternoon in the lobby of a downtown condo feels like any other day. Residents are taking their dogs out for walks; others are juggling bags of groceries and keys. The security staff behind the front desk waves at a delivery driver who tells him to “stay safe.”
These days, “stay safe” has taken on a new meaning and more than just a common parting phrase.
Safety has certainly already been a concern for a lot of property management companies who watched as the number of COVID-19 cases slowly escalated across Canada. The Philippine Reporter spoke with Richard Soosaithasan, a manager for a downtown condominium. Along with the majority of the property management staff, Soosaithasan is also working from home.
He said that the biggest challenge of managing a densely populated building during a pandemic is “minimizing the amount of foot traffic” as much as possible. This is evident in the copious lengths of bright yellow caution tape blocking off seating areas to discourage loitering but also to create a safe distance from front desk staff.
“As much as we can, we’re trying to enforce a two-meter barrier and also to restrict people from gathering around the lobby,” said Soosaithasan. “That’s one of the reasons why they’ve been cordoned.”
He added that glass barriers will soon be installed at front desks to protect staff in addition to wearing gloves and face masks.
With residents self-isolating in their units, Soosaithasan urges them to “only order the essentials and order less” to minimize package interactions.
Common areas like gyms and pools were also closed weeks before. But hard-to-avoid areas like elevators will be cleaned frequently. “The cleaning staff are constantly cleaning the lobby, elevators and floors on a much more regular basis and they’re instructed to wear gloves and masks as well,” he said. “We’ll also be outsourcing a team to disinfect the lobbies.”
Hand sanitizers are also visible in common areas.
And if a resident tests positive for the virus? Soosaithasan said he would urge residents to follow the guidelines. “We’re trying to inform people to basically stay self-isolated or contact Public Health Ontario,” he said.
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