In light of recent developments around CoronaVirus (Covid-19), we want to keep you informed of the steps we’re taking to protect our community and our team, whilst remaining rescue-ready, as needed.
We are closely monitoring government’s CoronaVirus guidelines and advice and, in order to act accordingly, we have taken the following steps in respect of our upcoming events and activities:
- Our AGM, originally scheduled for 19th April 2020 is now postponed until further notice. As soon as the government advises that a gathering of this type is safe to hold, we will announce a new date.
- Our Open Day, scheduled for 24th May 2020 is also postponed. At the moment, we are hoping we can reschedule the event to combine with the proposed date for our 50th Anniversary celebrations – 12th September 2020 – providing it is safe to do so. Again, we will act in accordance with government and health authority guidance, nearer the time and if necessary, will reschedule again.
- With regards to our fundraising activities and presence at local community events, we are following advice and respecting the need to cancel these for the foreseeable future. In all cases, we are acting in our community’s interests, as stipulated by the government.
Operational services during the CoronaVirus crisis
For our operational rescue services, the plan is as follows:
- As a trained rescue service, we remain ready to support our community and will still launch as required to help those in difficulty on the water or coastline. Any of our volunteers who are actively in quarantine will not be involved in any rescues.
- Our Sunday presence at the boathouse will be maintained at a ‘back to essentials’ level. This will involve a rota of a maximum of 3 volunteers at any time, keeping to advice about reasonable separation as much as possible, and wearing gloves throughout their time at the boathouse. Activities on Sundays will be restricted to the essentials to ensure that we can maintain service, as checking the vehicles and maintaining equipment is essential for keeping us rescue-ready to serve the community.
- Although we usually welcome visitors during our Sunday sessions, we are sad to say that the boathouse will be closed to visitors, even if it may appear to be ‘open’ whilst our smaller teams are there for equipment checks. We appreciate your understanding over this.
- In all operations, including any ‘shouts’ over this extreme period, our teams will be supporting all efforts to minimise potential infection in our communities. This includes regular sanitising of our base, boathouse and equipment. We are also following advice around hand washing and hygiene in accordance with Public Health guidelines.
We appreciate the challenging situation that everyone is finding themselves in. Please be assured that although Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat volunteers may not have our usual visible presence in the community, we’re still working hard behind the scenes to keep our service ready for action as needed.
In the meantime, we will be guided by government announcements in any future actions, and do our best to maintain the health and safety of our members and of the communities we serve.
In terms of sources of reliable information at this difficult time, we recommend the Government’s dedicated CoronaVirus pages at gov.uk/coronavirus. This also has a link to the official NHS website.
Please monitor our social media and website for further announcements and updates as necessary. You can also use these to contact us: Twitter: @PLIRBRescue or Facebook: @PettLevelRescueBoat
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