In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Artis is working hard to maintain a safe environment for tenants, employees, customers and visitors to our properties.
Our first priority and intention is to keep our buildings safe and open unless ordered closed by government authority. We have made appropriate contingency plans to maintain building supplies and necessary manpower for operations.
In accordance with current recommendations, we have increased common area cleaning in all properties. We have instructed our cleaning contractors to maintain a full complement of staff even as tenants choose to reduce the number of their employees in the building. The surplus manpower is being used to intensify cleaning and sanitizing in high traffic areas.
High touch surfaces, such as doorknobs/handles, railings and elevator buttons are being regularly cleaned throughout the day. Building cleaners are monitoring soap dispensers to ensure continued availability of these products.
We have had no service reductions and are currently fully staffed with building operations personnel (and are over-staffed with cleaning personnel). If this needs to change, we will immediately notify all tenants. We have asked our non-building operations personnel to work remotely for additional social distancing.
Artis has also imposed the same protocols for its employees and contractors as recommended by the Public Health Agency of Canada in an effort to minimize all risk throughout its buildings and is encouraging tenants to do the same, namely:
- Encouraging compliance with hand-washing and other hygiene recommendations;
- Requiring individuals who have travelled internationally in the last 14 days to self-isolate for 14 days after they have returned to Canada; and
- Directing individuals who experience any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19 to not come into its buildings and to self-isolate.
We will continue to closely monitor this situation and will adjust our approach as recommended by public health agencies.