Covid-19 Protocols For Guests

Updated 15th January 2021.

Open-spaces, sunshine and fresh air is an excellent environment for avoiding Covid-19, making a safari one of the best activities to indulge in at this time.

At Governors’ we have assembled a Covid-19 Response Committee whose job it is to oversee our procedures, operations and the guest experience – ensuring health and safety are at the forefront. The team is headed by Dr Romi Grammaticas, Governors’ co-founder and UK-qualified GP, with representatives at all levels of operations and departments engaged to ensure smooth implementation in each property.

This document outlines the minimum of the policies and procedures we have in place for the safety of our guests and our staff. Please find a PDF version of the document here for download.

Our team and responsiveness is designed to be agile and adaptive, monitoring and working with the latest available information from the WHO and government authorities. As such, practices indicated below may be adapted and changed as the situation evolves, with this document live and subject to change.

GOVERNORS’ CAMP PROPERTIES:

Welcome, Arrival and Check Out

• On arrival, all of our guests are fully briefed on the latest procedures and safety measures in place to protect them during their stay.
• The check-in procedure is done with no inter-person contact, and items of high touch are replaced by digital means, or sanitized thoroughly between uses.
• We encourage use of credit card facilities over cash for all transactions, with the card machine sanitized between uses. Luggage is handled with gloves and handles wiped with sanitizer.

Covid-19 Tests for our Guests

We are guided by Health Ministry and Government Guidelines in each country we operate in for administering tests to our guests, as well as WHO and IATA recommendations. Covid-19 tests are available, if required, in various medical centres in Nairobi and Kigali. We can assist with in-camp Covid testing, please see HERE for more information on this service.

Hygiene and Cleanliness in Public Areas

• Handwashing and hand sanitizer stations are available around the public areas of our properties so that they are readily accessible to our guests. We are utilising auto-dispensers and touch-free taps to minimize contact with surfaces.
• In public bathrooms, instructions are available to all guests on how to minimize contact with surfaces, and best practices for washing and sanitizing.
• Public areas are cleaned regularly throughout the day with focus on high touch areas such as armrests, tables and books, and during and after higher levels of guest activity.

Facemasks

• The WHO has advised that the use of barrier masks and medical masks help contain the spread of Covid-19 and many countries have enacted policies requiring their use in public.
• Kenya and Rwanda both currently have these policies in place and we require the same in the public areas of our properties. We have personal barrier masks available for all our guests while in camp, and our laundry systems ensure they are hygienically cared for between uses.
• Our staff throughout our properties wear masks, for their own safety and well-being, as well as our guests.

Food and Service

• At Governors’ our daytime meals have always been served outside under the trees (and amongst the warthogs and mongooses!) and we will continue this tradition daily, weather-permitting. Picnic meals while on game drives are encouraged – and of course are thoroughly enjoyable! Hand-washing facilities and hand-sanitizer are available and hygiene strictly observed by your guide.
• All meals are plated and served individually, with no buffets for any meal. Dining times are staggered as much as possible to avoid overcrowding and ensure social-distancing at mealtimes. Tables in dining rooms are well-spaced. For those wanting it, room service is available.
• We have always provided a dedicated waiter to our guests during their stay for their comfort and meeting their needs, and we shall continue with this level of service as part of our Covid-19 policy. Menus are presented verbally to each table and then displayed by the waiter for the guests to make their choices – the guests do not need to handle it.
• All service staff wear face masks.

Housekeeping

• Many of our protocols already in place work very well for handling Covid-19, and our Response Team ensures that they are adhered to. Cleaning products contain either 70% alcohol base or 0.1% sodium chlorite, and between guests, rooms receive a deep clean with a heightened focus on areas of frequent touch, such as light switches, taps, torches, handles, bedside tables and stationery.
• Each room has a dedicated housekeeper who is the only person to enter the room during your stay.
• Guests checking in will find a sign indicating that the room has been thoroughly sanitized, and also indicating who their dedicated housekeeper is.
• Morning tea and coffee is delivered to your tent by your dedicated housekeeper. Items are cleaned and sanitized in our kitchen.
• All housekeeping staff wear face masks. We are conscious of our environment and would like to minimize waste, therefore all staff wear reusable face masks which are disinfected thoroughly between each use.

Gamedrives

• We are currently offering a maximum of 4 pax per 6-seater open-vehicle, with the middle seats kept free as a buffer. One group traveling together or a family larger than 4 pax, are accommodated in a vehicle as per the vehicle’s seating capacity.
• Each of our guides has their own vehicle that they look after, and that guide is responsible for ensuring the hygiene and cleanliness of the vehicle before and after each game drive. This includes cleaning areas of high frequency touch, such as door handles and side armrests. Seat steaming-cleaning or alcohol-sprays are used to clean fabric covers between uses. A no-touch hand sanitizer dispenser is available in each car.
• The guide shall wear a mask throughout all activities, for both their safety and that of the guest.

Swimming pools at Governors’ Mugie House and Loldia House

The WHO has indicated that pools that are well-kept with chlorine levels between 1-3mg/l, with the pH between 6.8-7.4 are safe. Guest numbers at the pools are limited, and poolside furniture is regularly cleaned between uses and well-spaced.

Massages and Spa Treatments

Unfortunately our massages and spa treatments are not available until further notice.

Health of Governors’ Staff

• We are implementing daily health checks of our staff, including temperature checks and symptom reporting, for all staff. All our staff live on site while on duty, thus limiting exposure possibilities.
• Rotational systems are enacted for staff leave, ensuring that an essential period of quarantine in a separate area of the camp is mandatory for staff returning to work.
• We also perform random testing of our staff at all our properties.
• All staff that you interact with, shall wear face masks, for their safety as well as our guest’s safety.

Guests with illness symptoms

We have a robust medical management team who shall consult with the patient and staff, advise the relevant health officials and guide actions based on the Ministry of Health requirements in each country we that we operate (Kenya and Rwanda). The safety and comfort of all guests is of the highest priority, and all our staff have received training in handling suspected cases.

GOVERNORS’ BALLOON SAFARIS:

Pick up and Check-In

• As per our other areas of operation within Governors’ Collection, face masks, washing stations and hand sanitizer are provided and readily available to all our passengers along each leg of the balloon safari experience – and our staff are equipped with the same.
• We are collecting guests with a maximum of 4 people per 6-seater car, unless it is a family or group travelling together.
• The pilot briefing prior to flying includes information on the latest Covid-19 safety protocols.

Flying and Bush Breakfast

• Balloons are limited to 2 pax per compartment unless they are families or groups travelling together.
• The pilot will use rotation of the basket to ensure all passengers enjoy views and to avoid the need to lean nearer to other guests.
• The traditional bush breakfast is currently being served with adequate spacing or on individual tables per couple and group. Individual service is used including for items normally shared, such as condiments and seasoning.

GOVERNORS’ AVIATION:

Stringent safety measures have been applied, based on IATA and WHO recommendations for aircraft travel.

Waiting Lounge and Check-in Experience

• Check-in and our waiting lounge is social-distancing friendly. Our staff greet you with face visors and/or face masks. All hard surfaces are regularly disinfected and soft surfaces are disinfected with alcohol spray. No-touch, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are available throughout.
• Passengers are required to take and pass a body temperature check with a laser thermometer to be able to continue with their journey.
• Physical distance markers have been placed on the ground in the waiting areas to help passengers maintain social distance.
• During the check in process, guests are able to read out and display their passports/ID rather than handing it over to our staff.
• Our bathroom facilities are very regularly cleaned throughout the day, and particularly during and between guest check ins, with special attention to high touch areas.
• Safety briefing information is communicated at check-in and available in the lounge areas.
• Boarding passes, which were previously plastic tokens have been replaced by disposable colored paper.

Airplanes and Flying

• The pilot provides a briefing to guests that includes measures in place to protect guests and our staff from Covid-19.
• Our aircrafts are currently carrying a maximum of 12 passengers – with an exception of a group or family travelling together who take up all the seats. Only travelling companions are seated next to each other, otherwise spare seat spacing is used. Face masks during flights are mandatory and are provided, if our guests do not have their own.
• Between each flight, the planes are cleaned and disinfected, with a focus on areas of high frequency touch (i.e. armrests, window edges, safety cards, seats and seatbelts).
• Alcohol based sanitizers are available on each aircraft for use by guests.

GOVERNORS’ MEET & GREET NAIROBI SERVICES:

Please do check on the latest government requirements for travel prior to departure. You can find information on this HERE.

Our driver shall be waiting for you at the arrivals gate with your name displayed on a sign. The drivers wear a face mask and gloves for handling your luggage, and keep an adequate distance. Our cars are thoroughly sanitized with cleaning agents, alcohol and steamers for the seats and seatbelts prior to your arrival.

If you have any questions on any of our Covid-19 protocols, please send us an email on info@governorscamp.com