HOGARTH STEP 4 OF ROAD MAP: 19th July

We are excited to bring you the next phase of life at The Hogarth Club, with updated Covid-Secure Protocols from July 19th. As always, we are taking a sensitive and balanced approach on what we consider safe in our unique environment. Every safety decision we make within the Club is evidence based and carefully considered, and our team are on hand to answer any questions you may have.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: THE HOGARTH IS HERE FOR EVERYONE

It is essential that fitness and wellbeing facilities feel safe and accessible to even the most vulnerable, and our next phase is designed to allow those who want or need to follow more strict personal guidelines to do so.

Please remember: others may be vulnerable for reasons you may not see, or may be close to someone who is high risk - a parent, a partner, a child, a housemate. We ask that you be safe, be considerate and be understanding of others Club users, to help make The Hogarth a welcoming place for all.

We will be keeping certain measures, but allowing those that aren’t in that position to free up their experience at The Hogarth. Read on to find out what’s changing from the 19th along with some FAQs.

JULY 19th: THE HEADLINES

WE ARE REINTRODUCING:

✅ Saunas for one user (or two from the same household)

The latest research supports the reintroduction of Saunas as the heat (typically 70-100°C) inactivates the virus by denaturing the structure of the proteins, affecting the attachment and replication of the virus in the host cell. Sauna use will be managed by an “in-use” / “not-in-use” sign. No pre-booking is necessary, we simply ask members to sanitise the area they are using before and after their use.

❌ STEAM: There is no such evidence for steam rooms at this time and this will remain closed.

✅ Access to the changing rooms and showers, without bookings. 

We will be opening up the changing rooms, but we will ask members to use alternate lockers that are made available and maintain social distancing as is possible. For those that are still nervous, we suggest coming ready changed and using the temporary locks in the Kinesis room next to the main gym.

✅ Free weights in classes

You will be able to select pre-sanitised free weights in classes. Simply leave them on the floor at the end of our class, our team will clean them and return them to the rack.

WE ARE REMOVING:

❎ Bookings for Changing Rooms
Every other locker will now be available, and no longer bookable.The Kinesis room open lockers will still be available if you wish to come ready changed.

❎ One way system
We will be removing our requirement to follow a one-way system, and rely on common courtesy. Of course if you prefer to follow the route through the gym please feel free to do so. 

❎ Bookings for outdoor training pods
We consider there is enough space to safely meet demand at this time.

WE ARE MAINTAINING:

✅ Mask wearing in indoor common areas recommended for all members
In line with our balanced approach, we recommend that masks continue to be worn indoors in all common areas (but not whilst exercising).

✅ Cleaning of equipment after use

✅ Staff will continue to wear masks indoors until further notice
This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, subject to transmission rates.

✅ Pre-set stations for BodyPump and Group Cycle
This helps minimise gathering by equipment at the beginning of classes.

✅ Lanes in pool & swim bookings
The pool is more popular than ever, and the overwhelming feedback is that lanes and bookings should be here to stay!

✅ Spa Pool bookings
The spa pool is still bookable for single users, or two from the same household – again due to popularity.

✅ Class bookings recommended to guarantee your space
Bookings do help manage class capacity and minimise disappointment, as your space is guaranteed. If a class you attend is generally quiet, then you may not deem it necessary to book. This is your choice, but please be aware booking participants will be guaranteed their space.

✅ Kinesis room lockers
These will maintained for the time being for those that do not wish to use the changing rooms. Simply arrive ready changed!

✅ Exit through the Airedale will continue
This helps manage capacity at reception as they answer queries and welcome visitors.

✅ Of course, Helios the UV sanitising robot 
This is a long term investment to protect members for the foreseeable future from all bacterial infections

✅ Existing increased cleaning and larger housekeeping team

✅ Sanitiser and cleaning stations

✅ 2m distancing between all machines and glass screens in Gym

CLEANING

Our thorough cleaning protocols will remain in place with our expanded housekeeping team, supported by our UV-light cleaning robot, HELIOS.
We continue to ask members to use the cleaning products provided to wipe down their equipment after use.
BodyPump and Group Cycle classes will also continue to be pre-set up, cleaned and then put away by our in-house team to adhere to safe social distancing.

BOOKINGS

We are slightly changing our bookable areas but most will remain the same:

INDOOR GYM – non-bookable
OUTDOOR GYM – non-bookable
SWIMMING POOL – bookable 
SPA POOL – bookable 
SAUNAS – non-bookable (limited to 1 person)
CLASSES – bookable (to guarantee your space)
TENNIS – bookable 
SQUASH – bookable 
CHANGING ROOMS – non-bookable* 
OUTDOOR DINING PODS – bookable (to avoid disappointment)
INDOOR DINING TABLES – non-bookable (bookable for live sport viewings)

*Available lockers will be socially distanced. Temporary lockers in the Kinesis studio will remain in place for extra space.

MASKS

We recommend that visitors of The Hogarth continue to wear masks in common areas when not exercising or sat down eating or drinking.

Employees of The Hogarth have also been instructed to continue wearing masks while at the Club and complete a lateral flow test at least twice a week. This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, subject to transmission rates.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

We do encourage our members and staff to practice social distancing where possible throughout the Club to keep our most vulnerable members safe.

ONE WAY SYSTEM

We will be removing our One-Way System and current safety signage and will be relying on common courtesy from everyone for safe practice. For those that prefer to follow the One Way system route, feel free to do so. The entrance through reception and exit through The Airedale Bar will remain in place. This helps manage capacity at reception as they answer queries and welcome visitors.

GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES FOR STEP 4 OF REOPENING

At step 4, the Government will remove outstanding legal restrictions on social contact, life events, and open the remaining closed settings. The Government will instead enable people to make informed decisions about how to manage the risk to themselves and others. The Government will provide guidance to the public and to businesses on how they can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the risk of a resurgence which puts the NHS under unsustainable pressure.

This means that at step 4:

• All remaining limits on social contact (currently 6 people or 2 households indoors, or 30 people outdoors) will be removed and there will be no more restrictions on how many people can meet in any setting, indoors or outdoors.

• All settings will be able to open, including nightclubs. Large events, such as music concerts and sporting events can resume without any limits on attendance or social distancing requirements.

• All restrictions on life events such as weddings, funerals, bar/bat mitzvahs and baptisms will be removed, including the remaining restrictions on the number of attendees. There will be no requirement for table service at life events, or restrictions on singing or dancing.

• COVID-status certification will not be required in law as a condition of entry for visitors to any setting. Organisations are already able to ask visitors for proof of COVID-status, as long as they meet existing legal obligations including under equality law. The Government is providing a way for individuals to easily demonstrate their COVID-status. This can be achieved by completion of a full vaccine course, a recent negative test, or proof of natural immunity - through the NHS COVID Pass on the NHS app.

• The legal requirements to wear a face covering will be lifted in all settings. 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.

• Social distancing rules (2 metres or 1 metre with additional mitigations) will be lifted. You should continue to consider the risks of close contact with others, particularly if you are clinically extremely vulnerable or not yet fully vaccinated. Social distancing will only be required in limited circumstances: ports of entry for passengers between disembarkation and border control in order to manage the risk of Variants of Concern being transmitted between individuals; and people who are self-isolating should also continue to socially distance from others, particularly where they have had a positive test. Health and care settings will continue to maintain appropriate infection prevention and control processes as necessary and this will be continually reviewed. Guidance will be updated based on the latest clinical evidence this summer.

• For individual settings where the risks of rapid spread are particularly acute, Directors of Public Health, in consultation with setting operators and relevant departments, will be able to advise that social distancing is put in place if necessary to control outbreaks. This should be targeted, time limited, and apply to settings characterised by enclosed and vulnerable communities such as prisons, immigration removal centres and homeless shelters.

• It is no longer necessary for Government to instruct people to work from home. Employers can start to plan a return to workplaces.

• Regulations that place COVID-secure requirements on businesses, including table service, and distancing between tables, will be lifted. ‘Working Safely’ guidance will be updated to provide examples of sensible precautions that employers can take to reduce risk in their workplaces. Employers should take account of this guidance in preparing the risk assessments they are already required to make under pre-pandemic health and safety rules.

• Businesses must not require a self-isolating worker to come to work, and should make sure that workers and customers who feel unwell do not attend the setting.

• Businesses will be encouraged to ask staff and customers to clean their hands regularly and clean surfaces that people touch regularly. The Government will provide guidance on how businesses can reduce unnecessary contact in the workplace, where it is practical. Operators will still be encouraged to use outside space where practical, and to consider the supply of fresh air to indoor spaces. Carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors could be used to help identify where a space is poorly ventilated with businesses encouraged to take steps to improve ventilation if CO2 readings are consistently high.

• Businesses will be encouraged to display QR codes for customers to check in using the NHS COVID-19 app, to support NHS Test and Trace, although it will no longer be a legal requirement.

• The Government will change the controls that apply in early years, schools, colleges and higher education institutions to maintain a baseline of protective measures while maximising attendance and minimising disruption to children and young people’s education. The Government’s intention is that from step 4 children will no longer need to be in consistent groups (‘bubbles’), and early years settings, schools or colleges will not be required to routinely carry out contact tracing, which will help to minimise the number of children isolating. Contact tracing in specific educational settings would only be triggered if deemed necessary in response to a local outbreak.

• The Government also intends to exempt under 18s who are close contacts of a positive case from the requirement to self-isolate, in line with the approach for those who are fully vaccinated (as set out below). Further detail will be published in due course and the changes are likely to come into effect later in the summer. There will be no restrictions on in-person teaching and learning in universities.

• The Department for Education will shortly set out more detail and publish new guidance for arrangements in education settings from step 4, covering both the summer period and the following term.

• In care homes, the Government will lift restrictions that limit each resident to five named visitors. Specific guidance will advise how visits should be conducted to keep care homes safe whilst also making visits as normal as possible. Care homes will need to retain infection prevention and control measures essential to protecting residents from the risk of infection.

Lifting restrictions does not mean that the risks from COVID-19 have disappeared. Instead it marks a new phase in the Government’s response to the pandemic during which people need to manage the risks to themselves and others as the country learns to live with the virus. Building on the updated guidance on meeting friends and family, announced as part of step 3, the Government will provide advisory guidance on how people can manage the risks to themselves and to others. It sets out how the following behaviours are beneficial:

1. Meeting in well-ventilated areas where possible, such as outdoors or indoors with windows open.

2. Wearing a face covering where you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet in enclosed and crowded spaces.

3. Washing your hands with soap and water or using hand sanitiser regularly throughout the day.

4. Covering your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze.

5. Staying at home if unwell, to reduce the risk of passing on other illnesses onto friends, family, colleagues, and others in your community.

6. Considering individual risks, such as clinical vulnerabilities and vaccination status.

The Government will continue to urge people to get vaccinated, and to self-isolate and get tested if they have symptoms. It will remain a legal requirement for people to self-isolate if they test positive or are told to do so by NHS Test and Trace. The public will continue to be encouraged to download and use the latest version of the NHS COVID-19 app to help reduce the spread of the virus.

Individuals may choose to limit the close contact they have with those they do not usually live with in order to reduce the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19, particularly if they are clinically extremely vulnerable. It is important to respect and be considerate of those who may wish to take a more cautious approach as restrictions are lifted.

Get in touch using the contact form below with any enquiries or call 020 8995 4600