Last Update: Jan 4, 2023
In March 2020 the global pandemic of novel coronavirus demanded substantial changes and revisions of business practices, government health orders, and individual behaviours in order to minimize mass outbreaks of the deadly Coronavirus disease. With two plus years under our belts of managing life alongside the virus, those of us in the music lessons profession have managed to carve out a very safe and low-risk way of continuing youth and adult music education. For a lot of students having this musical lifeline was a blessing especially during the most isolated days of the early pandemic! Since BC Health Authorities lifted the most rigid safety measures in March 2022, we too have relaxed our precautionary measures.
To continue to safely support our student body to self express and develop their skills on their chosen instrument we at Pleasant Mountain Music still adhere to and highlight the following BCCDC (BC Centre for Disease Control) guidelines to minimize risk of spreading Covid-19. The bonus is these guidelines are also excellent at minimizing risk of spreading common cold and seasonal flu/bacterial infections:
- Handwashing – We ask students to wash their hands before class, and we ask our teachers to handwash or use hand sanitizer as often as is reasonable within a given teaching day.
- Physical Distancing – Our classrooms have enough room to sit 6 feet, or 3 meters apart during lessons. With the notable exception that sometimes students and teachers briefly sit facing the same way if the teacher must demonstrate a musical concept.
- Mask wearing – our teachers are all prepared to wear face masks throughout their lessons, and students should also feel comfortable wearing a mask while in the class room and waiting areas. Parents who wait in our waiting area are asked to wear face masks if they are feeling under the weather. Please note, we have extra face masks on site at the studio for public use.
- Travel – any students who have travelled or are expecting to travel outside of the province of BC should follow CDC guidelines on physical isolation, negative test results, vaccination requirements, and other safety measures before returning to in-person lessons. If a student tests negative to Covid-19 after travelling abroad, teachers will happily welcome them back to in-person. If a negative test is not available and a student feels unwell, the first lesson after returning from travels may be administered through video conferencing/online platform.
- Cleaning and disinfecting – Pleasant Mountain Music’s administration team will be responsible for regular cleaning of high-touch surface areas in the studio. Musical instruments provided by the studio (such as electric drums, pianos, and amps) will be cleaned at the end of each teaching day by teachers and/or administration team.
http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/prevention-risks
January 2023 onwards, we recommend that any students who fall ill should stay home and take their lessons online that week. It’s the safest measure to prevent cold/flu transmission, while also ensuring students retain their regular schedule. If a student is too sick for any activities (including online music lessons) we will do our best to offer a make-up lesson where possible.
Finally, we wish to say thank you to parents, guardians, and students for their continued commitment to health and safety measures despite boredom or fatigue with the pandemic. Your support of online lessons when sick and face mask wearing
Other helpful resources to provide science-based and data-driven reasoning behind wearing of face masks when indoors:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/covid-19-pho-order-face-coverings.pdf
Further reading on activity restrictions and indoor/outdoor gatherings: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/covid-19/covid-19-pho-order-gatherings-events.pdf
NOTE: As of March 24, 2022 indoor gatherings are increased to allow up to 50 people, therefore one-on-one lessons with a teacher and student are still permissible under the current PHO (Provincial Health Orders).