COVID-19 and Common-Sense Measures for
Keeping You and Your Family Well
BEING IN AN OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT IS ONE WAY OF STAYING HEALTHY AND GERM-FREE FOR MOST INDIVIDUALS. HOWEVER, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT IT IS STILL FLU SEASON AND MANY OF OUR PARTICIPANTS ARE MORE VULNERABLE TO COMMUNICABLE DISEASES THAN THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION. THE RISK OF ILLNESS FROM RESPIRATORY VIRUSES, INCLUDING THE FLU AND COVID-19, MAKES IT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO TAKE PROACTIVE STEPS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF RESPIRATORY ILLNESS.
In a rapidly changing situation, we want to share what we’re doing to keep our participants, volunteers, and staff safe. Our advice may vary from other organizations, so please take a few minutes to read it. You can help us keep everyone as safe as possible, while still enjoying the benefits of your time here at the farm.
We maintain attendance information for all regularly scheduled volunteers and participants. We now ask all guests and visitors to sign in at volunteer desk in the classroom. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) require us to share with them if there were to be case connected to the MTRA family. If you or a family member are unwell with symptoms such as a fever, nausea, or cough please stay home until you have been fever free, without fever reducing medicine, for a minimum of 24hrs. If you or a family member, or someone you live with has a COVID-19 diagnosis, please let us know as soon as possible.
We typically follow cleanliness and sanitary protocols, such as cleaning high-traffic areas and those items used by many people. We are encouraging handwashing for a 20-secound duration and to the best of our ability, we will have sanitizers available in all areas. If you have been to the store lately, you will know that sanitizer is an in-demand commodity, so please feel free to bring your own just in case we run out! On a fun note, as we all wash our hands furiously, here’s a list of tunes you can hum to yourself for the required time. WE PROMISE WE WON’T RECORD ANY SINGING!
- Happy Birthday – (if this gets annoying try the Chorus to the songs below
) - Prince – “Raspberry Beret”
- Beyoncé – “Love on Top”
- Dolly Parton- “Jolene”
- Toto – “Africa”
By the nature of our equipment, it is not possible to thoroughly disinfect everything with which you may come in contact – for example, helmets and reins. The straps on our helmets are tough to keep clean, so if you don’t own your rider/patient’s helmet, you might consider purchasing one that is ASTM-SEI approved. If you decide to do this, please check with your Instructor to know the size and brand of the helmet that you or your family member uses by calling the program team at 352-732-7300 or by emailing catherine@mtraocala.org. Typically helmets that we use are in the $50 -$100 range. Please DO NOT buy a second-hand helmet. Brands that we recommend include: Troxel, Ovation, Tipperary and Dublin. You can purchase at amazon.com or local tack stores.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
If you have visited the following countries China, Iran, South Korea, Italy and Japan, or any country that is added to the to the CDC level 2 or 3 list since the beginning of February 2020, please let us know by phone or email. If this is a recent, we hope you had a great trip, but please do not come back to MTRA until you’ve been home for 14 days and are symptom-free. CDC information is available at cdc.gov .
Here are some everyday preventative actions that the CDC suggest:
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people
- If you or your child gets sick with flu like illness, CDC recommends that you (or your child) stay at home for at least 24 hours after the fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. The fever should be gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.
- While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.
- If an outbreak of flu or another illness occurs, follow public health advise. This may include information about how to increase the distance between people and other measures.
AT MTRA, WE ARE ALSO DISINFECTING COMMON SURFACES AND AREAS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WHILE WE MAINTAIN ATTENDANCE INFORMATION FOR ALL REGULARLY SCHEDULED VOLUNTEERS AND PARTICIPANTS, WE WOULD ALSO ASK ALL GUEST AND VISITORS SIGN IN AT THE DESIGNATED TABLE IN THE CLASSROOM IN THE BARN.