New Brunswick Recovery Plan:
Museums in New Brunswick are now permitted to open, however careful planning must happen before opening to ensure a safe environment for employees, students, volunteers and visitors.
Under Phase 3 (Yellow), several activities and openings are permitted, subject to maintaining physical distancing measures, general guidelines from Public Health and the Guidelines for New Brunswick Workplaces issued by WorkSafe NB.
Public Health is now requiring that non-medical face masks (also called community masks) be worn in public if 2-metre physical distancing (or separation by physical barrier such as an office wall, cubicle or Plexiglas partition) cannot be maintained. Public areas include workplaces, therefore, employees are required to wear a face mask where 2-metre distancing cannot be maintained in the workplace.
Businesses do not need to be inspected before re-opening, but they must prepare an operational plan that can be provided to officials, if requested. Businesses may open immediately, but it is up to each business operator to decide if they are ready and if all guidelines have been met.
COVID-19 Operational Plan:
- Each business will be required to have a written plan documenting their risk assessment and mitigation measures consistent with Public Health guidance and WorkSafeNB rules and regulations
- Individual COVID-19 plans will not be reviewed or approved by WorkSafeNB or Public Health prior to a business re-opening its doors once the emergency order permits it to do so
- However, these plans will need to be produced during spot checks or should a complaint be made and investigated by one of the parties
- Such an investigation, if a complaint is founded, would lead to recommended improvement to increase mitigation measures within the operational plan
Please see Opportunity New Brunswick’s YouTube video, Preparing Your Business for Reopening, which addresses Frequently Asked Questions regarding this process.
