7 February, 2022
Government Public Health Advice

Following the Government's announcement on January 21st 2022, all information on current Government Public Health advice can be found on www.gov.ie 

The Work Safety Protocol which has now been renamed as Transitional Protocol: Good Practice Guidance for Continuing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 can be found here: on gov.ie - Transitional Protocol: Good Practice Guidance for Continuing to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 (www.gov.ie)

13 May, 2021

Artists returning to work

The Government’s guidance remains that everyone should work from home unless absolutely necessary to attend in person. For professional artists including for example visual artists or theatre performers, the change in regulations means that individuals may again attend their workplaces to develop work, but only where it is absolutely necessary to attend in person. All workplaces must adhere to the Government’s Work Safely Protocol and other public health guidance and should have robust infection prevention control arrangements in place. Minister Catherine Martin further notes that this relates only to professional artists and not to amateur artists or those engaged in art for social or recreational purposes.

 30 April, 2021
Government Advice

For more information visit: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/0bd80-new-public-health-measures-announced-the-path-ahead/       

 28 April 2021
COVID-19 Reopening Guidelines for Young People, Children and Education

The Arts Council has worked with the The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to develop guidance for children and young people’s arts and cultural activities. This guidance will continue to be updated in line with public health measures. The guidance is available here.
 

 17 December 2020
Briefing Material on Dance Classes and Dance Training at modified Level 3

 Users of this guidance must take into consideration any changes to Government Restrictions and Public Health Advice, such as transitions through the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19 framework levels, as and when they become available.

 General Position

From 1st December, the country has moved to a modified Level 3 of the Government’s Plan for Living with COVID-19. Under these restrictions, all conventional¹ dance and exercise classes remain suspended. However, Individual² training, including one-to-one instruction is allowed at Level 3 and this applies to sport, dance and exercise.

The Arts Council is in the process of preparing guidance on dance practice and training which will include Individual Training, One-to-one instruction and classes when restrictions permit. In the meantime, the below guidance for individual training may be used.

 NOTE: Dance Studios and Organisations should have already prepared their COVID-19 response plans in line with Work Safely Protocols, current Government guidance, Public Health Advice and relevant Return to Training documents. These should be updated to include individual and one-to-one training. For further information on COVID-19 response plan see:

  https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/bb7fd-work-safely-protocol/ 

 The measures which should be considered to reduce the risk of spread of infection include:

 Preparation and Management of the Studio: 

• Numbers permitted to partake in individual training at any one time in a particular premise will be dependent on social distancing capacity and will be determined on available space and other contributing factors such as ventilation, access/egress. As always, each teacher needs to assess their own venues and make informed decisions as to how to apply the advice to their own space.

• Participants should be advised of the changes to training and studio layout.

• Additional signage, hand sanitization stations and deep cleaning implemented. No equipment sharing in any circumstances.

• Activity should take place in a predefined area which is visually marked out and directionally signed.

• The space required in this area should reflect the nature and intensity of the activity.

• There should be in excess of 2m social distancing between each of the predefined areas. 

• The cleaning of facilities should be conducted in accordance with the Governments most recent Work Safely Protocol. See Work Safely Protocol Section D10, Page 20

• Cleaning of the space should be carried out after each training session. Additional time should be allocated to facilitate this.

• The ventilation of facilities should be conducted in accordance with the Governments most recent Work Safely Protocol. See Work Safely Protocol Section 5D, Page 28.

• It will be important to ventilate the space before during and after each training session. Additional time should be allocated to facilitate this.

 Before and During Training/ Instruction: 

• Health Screening for instructors and participants (declarations, self-assessments and temperature checks etc.).

• Staggered start and finish times combined with appropriate entry, exit and traffic management protocols to limit the interaction of participants at any one time.

• Prebooking of activity is essential and contact logs kept for contact tracing purposes. 

• Reduction in the overall duration of the activity.

• Participants arrive ready to train and leave immediately (no changing room or shower use).

• Instructors should refer to the HSE guidance on wearing of face coverings. It is recommended that all instructors wear face coverings at all times when the studio is in use and while giving instruction. 

• Encourage more frequent hand washing or use of hand sanitiser

 Additional measures to reduce the risk of spread of infection for one-to-one instruction include:

• Any demonstration of equipment or technique should ensure that a minimum of 2m social distancing is maintained.

• Individual equipment should not be shared.

• In the case of fixed equipment, cleaning of such equipment must be completed immediately after demonstration and before the individual participant uses.

• There should be no hands-on adjustments or physical contact during training sessions.

• Instructors should refer to the HSE guidance on wearing of face coverings. It is recommended that all instructors wear face coverings at all times when the studio is in use and while giving instruction. 

 Additional Consideration: 

• Safeguarding Policies and Procedures should be considered by holding one-to-one instruction with minors. Parents or Guardians should be permitted to attend in line with public health advice (face covering, Social Distancing etc.).

• Travelling to and from training should be in line with current restrictions ie. Within your 5km, within your county boundary, nationally.

While these measures mean that individual activities can take place, Individual training and one-to-one instruction should not be viewed as a way of reintroducing conventional organised dance classes which are specifically precluded under the current public health measures.  

  

 ¹ ‘Conventional Classes’ - Conventional dance classes include free movement, mingling of groups, partner work, hand holding and sequencing where social distancing can not be maintained.

 ² Individual training can be defined as individual, physically distanced, non-contact activity, completed in a pre-defined area, within a controlled environment and without the sharing of equipment.

 Wednesday 2 December

New arrangements for December and the Christmas period have been published by the Government as part of the National Framework for Living with COVID-19.

You can download a detailed list of the arrangements  here .

 Tuesday 17 November

 Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce Report published

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, T.D., today welcomed the publication of Live Worth Living, the Report of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce.

It has been widely acknowledged that the impact of COVID-19 on the Arts/Culture sector has been more detrimental, and will last longer, than in nearly any other sector. Almost all activity has stopped and it is likely that for many parts of the sector it will be among the last to restart.

The Taskforce has now completed its work and its Chairperson, Ms. Clare Duignan, submitted the report to the Minister, which was noted by Government earlier today.

 Life Worth Living report recommendations include:

• income, taxation and financial provision measures;
• education and training supports;
• technology supports;
• mental health supports;
• social protection measures;
• copyright measures

The report can be viewed in full here. You can read more about the announcement of the report's publication here.

 
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