We are now six weeks into the intelligent lockdown and we hope that everyone has struck a good life and work balance given the circumstances. The weekly Government press conference was held again yesterday evening.
Prime Minister Rutte announced that the current restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus would continue until 20 May. At the same time, there are cautious signs of an easing of the restrictions. What appears to still be needed is the new ‘one-and-a-half meter society’. We would like to inform you of how WTC will comply with the one-and-a-half meter society. To this end, we would like to introduce our new concept: Safe & Healthy WTC.
Safe & Healthy WTC in public spaces
There are several, different spaces at WTC The Hague that include public spaces, your own office, various facilities and hospitality areas. They are all important parts of a Safe & Healthy World Trade Center. The public spaces are particularly important to us as these are where a lot of people converge.
The one-and-a-half meter society requires us to make changes in how we use these spaces. To ensure safe and healthy workspaces, several changes have been made and made visible with banners and stickers.
- All the staircases are now one way as they are too narrow to comply with the 1.5 meter requirement. The rules for each staircase are given at the staircase. In general, between 06:00 and 12:00 you may only go upstairs and between 12:00 and 20:00 you may only go downstairs.
- We have capped the number of people in the lifts. To ensure your safety, the floor of the lifts have been marked so that users can stand at a safe distance from each other. We request everyone to comply for their own safety and that of others. There are also indications in the lift lobby as to where people can stand 1.5 meters apart while waiting for the life. We realize that this will greatly reduce the carrying capacity of the lifts and that you may have to wait longer than usual. Where possible, the staircases will be opened to ease the pressure on the lifts. We hope you understand. Our priority at the moment is to create a healthy working environment for everyone and we can only achieve this together. The lift buttons are being cleaned more frequently and we will continue to do this.
- Special plastic screens have been placed at the reception to ensure that both you and our staff can use our hospitality services safely.
- We will mark the floors at various areas in the public spaces to indicate one-way flows and distances.
- The escalators will be marked so that you can use them safely and maintain 1.5 meters distance.
- We will place additional disinfection stations in the public spaces so that you can disinfect your hands quickly and conveniently.
- The toilets are being cleaned more frequently and we will continue doing so. We will monitor if the cleaning is enough in case of greater use. If necessary, we will increase the cleaning frequency.
- At present, WTC The Hague is only accessible for our tenants and their visitors. Visitors who do not need be in the building are requested to leave the building. We will make this known through various communications channels.
Over the next few weeks, we will gradually work on these provisions to make WTC The Hague a Safe & Healthy WTC.
Safe & Healthy Office
The Cabinet recommends people to still work at home wherever possible. We too are requesting our tenants to use their work spaces responsibly, to stay at home if they have a fever or a cold and to comply with the recommendations of the RIVM.
At the same time, we expect more people to gradually return to WTC. The challenge for companies is to adhere to the recommended social distancing of 1.5 meters and make their offices safe. We would be pleased to help. The WTC team has specialists who can advise on the Safe & Healthy Office concept. Do not hesitate to contact us. The WTC and CBRE teams are well placed in terms of knowledge and expertise to provide advice on how to ensure your office is safe and healthy. We would be pleased to share our knowledge. If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected].
We understand that these changes are asking every WTC user to make an effort. We are very open to any questions and/or suggestions. Let us all live by the one-and-a-half meter society within the walls of WTC The Hague. We are counting on your cooperation. Together we can make sure your office remains a safe, healthy and pleasant place to work.