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SAFETY AND WELLNESS FIRST
ALX COMMUNITY’S SAFEGUARDS FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Dear ALX Community Members and Guests –
Without you, there would be no ALX Community. All of the space changes and policy changes included in this guide come from a place of ensuring your office environment in this ‘new normal’ is safe and comfortable.
We have implemented these safety and wellness guidelines based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Workspaces Association (GWA), collaboration with other co-working centers, and of course, you, the members.
Prospective members, we are offering in-person and virtual tours daily. Come see what #thenewoldtown is all about as you tour our beautiful waterfront office space.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay 6′ apart –
ALX Community
Materials Matter | Social Distancing Design | Low-Contact Solutions | High-Contact Solutions | Arrival Procedures | Meeting Rooms | Masks and Gloves | Infection Action Plan | Technology
MATERIALS MATTER
How long does the SARS-CoV-2 virus last on surfaces?
The lifespan of SARS-CoV-2 is shown below. While the lifespan of other viruses will vary on these materials, but identifying surfaces within your space that provide a more hospitable environment for bacteria and viruses is the first step to ensuring wellness.
The CDC has also released new guidance that states the likelihood of transmission from touching other surfaces is much less than with contact from other people. While it may be possible to contract COVID-19 from touching objects, the CDC reiterates that the primary mode of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is still person-to-person with close contact/droplet transmission.
SOCIAL DISTANCING DESIGN
Workspaces and Common Areas
Open Common Areas and Huddle Booths
Common Area seating has been reduced significantly (>50%).
Kitchen access and coffee service will continue with social distancing areas identified.
Cafe space has been redesigned to allow for spaced out seating.
Flex Desks
Flex desk seating has been reduced by 50%.
Polycarbonate divider screens are provided between every Flex Desk.
Additional quiet offices have been opened to allow for recommended social distancing.
You can reserve your flex desks and quiet desks in the member portal.
Dedicated Desks
Polycarbonate divider screens have been added where needed for additional precautions.
Additional offices have been opened to allow for recommended social distancing
Private Office Suites
Offices can be further customized with personal divider screens, personal fridges, internal coffee machines, and recommended social distancing of your teams desks.
Designated Entrances and Exits, Controlled Traffic Flow
Entrances and Exits
ALX doors will be designated as either entrances or exits.
The Main Entrance, Second Floor Lobby, and the doors to the Conference Center hallway are designated entrances.
The first floor Elevator Lobby, Loading Dock Door, Patio, Second Floor Side Entrance, and rear Conference Center doors are designated exits.
Hallways
Hallways have been modified to be single direction only. Arrows have been placed on the floor as reminders.
Each floor has 1 long hallway in each direction.
The short hallways alternate directions.
Offices 609-612 may use the second floor side entrance in both directions.
Huddle Booths
Each huddle booth has an additional 12″ of hallway space designated for safe passage.
Huddle booths may contain more than 1 person in situations where both participants are related, share living space, or are otherwise ‘quarantined together’.
LOW CONTACT SOLUTIONS
Automation and Touchless Devices
Soap dispensers at the kitchen sinks will operate via sensors.
All building handicapped access buttons can be utilized for low-touch ingress and egress.
Our Virtual Receptionist and Honor Bar will be touchless via QR codes.
Cleaning Supplies & New Cleaning Signage
Hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes will be available throughout the entire community.
All main building and restroom entrances will have paper towel dispensers.
Hand sanitizers are also placed throughout the common areas of the building.
All ALX Community common areas have sanitizing wipes, spray, paper towels or facial tissues. Members are asked to wipe down any spaces before and after use.
All phone booths are equipped with a 70% alcohol spray solution and tissues to wipe down the wood/hard surfaces before and after each use.
Our cleaning team performs our enhanced cleaning protocol every weeknight, including a CDC-approved bleach solution on all surfaces that can accept bleach, and a CDC-approved hospital grade sanitation solution on the remaining surfaces. They will also perform a deep clean as indicated.
Our ALX Community team performs extra cleaning throughout the workday.
Our building team performs an enhanced cleaning of all building common areas every weeknight.
HIGH CONTACT SOLUTIONS
Nanoseptic Surfaces
Nanoseptic surfaces are a next-generation infection control solution in commercial real estate, travel, and hospitality management. These adhesive surfaces can be used to cover everything from a single light switch to door handles, touchscreens, and push bars. Non-adhesive elements such as mats, bin liners, and tablet-sized mats that are portable and perfect for hotel room bathrooms. They require no special cleaning and only require replacement for aesthetic reasons.
Thes unique surfaces use a powerful oxidation reaction to continually clean themselves; not only lessening the load on our operations team, but also providing continuous cleaning to our highest touch points. Independent testing reported in Infection Control Today has shown the Nanoseptic surfaces were immediately 57% cleaner, and 93% cleaner after only 3 minutes.
Installation
The following ALX Community high-touch points will have Nanoseptic Surfaces installed upon their arrival:
All door handles, including phone booths and private offices
All meeting room reservation tablets
All virtual receptionist tablets
Coffee maker, water dispenser, and Honor Bar screens
Printer touch screens
All appliance handles, knobs, and buttons.
Light switches.
NEW ARRIVAL PROCEDURES
Arrival to Building and ALX Community
All members are asked to use the Main Entrance for their first entry of the day, complete a mandatory temperature check and verbal self-certification of absence of symptoms and/or exposure. Members and guests with a temperature/fever over 100.0 degrees will not be able to work at ALX that day.
Allow yourself extra time to check-in or stagger your arrival time to avoid waiting.
Upon arrival, guests will be asked to sign in to our Virtual Receptionist, complete a mandatory temperature check, and e-complete a health disclosure self-certifying that they are experiencing no symptoms, and have not been exposed to anyone exhibiting symptoms.
Elevators are limited to 2 people with signage available on how to wait safely distanced.
Stairs may be used.
Signage will direct you in the space on traffic flow and socially distant spacing.
NEW MEETING ROOM PROCEDURES
Conference Rooms
The capacity of all meeting rooms has been reduced to allow for social distancing. Capacity and recommended configuration are found in the member portal and in each room.
Before heading to your meeting space, please pick up your meeting room materials basket. This basket contains whiteboard markers, BARCO controller, and TV remote in plastic baggies, and the keyboard. The basket also includes sanitizing spray and paper towels to wipe down the table before and after your meeting. The markers and BARCO are sanitized in between uses, and placed in new baggies. The TV remote and the BARCO can be used from within the baggie, and the keyboard will be sanitized between meetings.
Please wipe down the meeting table and any chair arms before and after any use of a meeting space.
Please remember to allow for an additional couple of minutes before and after your meeting to allow for materials pickup and return as well a quick wipedown.
Phone Booths
Phone booths will remain open at this time, and nanoseptic surfaces will be installed on all door handles.
Our phone booths continuously exchange air via bottom intake fans and ceiling mounted exhaust fans. A complete air exchange happens about 60 times an hour, approximately every minute.
Alcohol disinfecting spray and tissues have been included in each phone booth to allow for a quick wipe down of hard surfaces before and after use.
Please remember to include an additional couple of minutes before and after your booth time to allow for a quick wipe down.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Face Masks Available
Everyone is required to wear a mask to enter ALX Community.
Disposable masks are available at the front desk in the event you forget your mask.
Masks are to be worn in all common areas, flex desks, and dedicated desks.
Office tenants may choose their own personal policy for inside their private offices.
Disposable Gloves
Food Service disposable gloves will be placed in the kitchen and at each printer station. Please use them while handling equipment.
All gloves are one time use only. A glove used to work the printer controls should NOT be used anywhere else to prevent cross-contamination.
Please use gloves to handle the ice scoop in the ice makers. The scoop should be the only equipment used to get ice. At no time should a glass or cup be used to scoop ice. This is a cross-contamination issue as well as a safety hazard.
“Sneeze Guards”
Clear polycarbonate desk dividers have been purchased and will be used at the reception desk, the flex desks, and the dedicated desks as needed.
The dividers will be placed so that they split the flex desks in half. As a reminder, we have also removed 50% of the seats to avoid direct face-to-face contact and maintain safe distances.
INFECTION ACTION PLAN
Active Infection and Exposure Notification
We ask that all members notify a member of the ALX Community team as quickly as possible upon these scenarios: exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19; requiring a COVID-19 test; receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis or positive test results; exposed to someone that has tested positive.
Should we be notified that a member or visitor has tested positive for COVID-19, our Infection Action Plan will be activated.
Infection Action Plan
Notify building management. Conversely, if the building is notified that a tenant or employee/visitor of a tenant has tested positive, they will notify ALX management team.
Deep enhanced cleaning of ALX Community space and building common areas and restrooms. Building management also has enhanced cleaning protocols.
Other cleaning/maintenance guidelines as advised by the CDC or Health Department. This may include, but is not limited to, HVAC system cleaning, filter changes, and fresh air exchange.
Member notification via email including member/visitor last noted in building.
Notices placed within ALX Community echoing email notification.
Any members that may have had close contact or exposure with/to the infected member/visitor may be personally contacted based on guidance from the Alexandria City Health Department. Members check into and our of our workspaces so we are thus able to see who else was in the building at a particular time.
TECHNOLOGY
Fiber Internet
Our internet connection is 1GB fiber and our space is blanketed with WiFi Access Points (WAPs).
We have tested video calls throughout the space to ensure a lag-free experience; please keep in mind that internet traffic beyond our gateway is out of our control. There may be upstream traffic issues that we are unable to control, and are the same for everyone.
As members return to the space, we will monitor the WiFi throughput and the video experience.
Anti-virus and Malware protection
We always recommend that members maintain anti-virus and malware detection software on their computers.
Follow safe computing practices; avoid clicking links from unknown senders. Be wary of phishing scams where a webpage or an email may look exactly like a known sender.
Use password protection on your video calls, use any ‘Admit’ features available to avoid strangers (and porn) crashing your calls via ‘zoom-hacking’.
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ALX Community 201 N Union St. Suite 110, Alexandria VA 22314 |
703-826-0020
