Recent weeks have seen a new Omicron variant of covid-19 emerge and begin to spread across the UK. With this, Government have re-introduced measures to mitigate this risk such as mask wearing in shops and on all public transport.

BAFE are confident by now that all the fire safety industry fully understands their position as a life safety, and therefore necessary, provision of service required to continue (where safe to do so).

However, BAFE would like to note that understandably technicians, engineers, and other roles will be working on other people’s premises and therefore your covid risk assessments should be reviewed to represent latest guidance. This is to keep both yourselves and anyone on your client’s premises as safe as possible.

In July, BAFE commented on the reduction of covid safety restrictions across the UK. We would like to reiterate two of our recommendations made at the time:

• Continue to exercise a risk-based approach prior to visiting a site to perform work. What is the current policy of your client? What requirements are they expecting you to follow when on-site? Do they require evidence of negative rapid lateral flow tests of technicians/engineers? What would you like them to do in helping reduce any risk of possible transmission to your employees?

• Continue to wear a mask, especially when indoors in areas with limited ventilation and/or high capacity of people within the space available. The World Health Organisation (WHO) continue to recommend mask wearing “as part of a comprehensive strategy of measures to suppress transmission and save lives”. Government note “to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, published guidance will advise that wearing a face covering will reduce your risk and the risk to others, where you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet in enclosed and crowded spaces”.

BAFE believe that registered organisations will continue to deliver safe covid working practice in the interest of everyone’s safety.

Latest Government advice which outlines recent, and any upcoming changes to all four constituent countries can be found via the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus