Risk management is a three-part process that can evolve as circumstances change:
1. IDENTIFYING THE RISKS (Risk Assessment) and PRIORITISING them according to your own circumstances
2. TAKING ACTION to put in place control measures that minimise impacts (Risk Mitigation)
3. MONITORING and REVIEWING as circumstances change
This document provides guidance for you to make your own decisions on action to take within the parameters of government restrictions currently in place. We recommend that your choir’s managing group take the lead in consultation with members at each step. Engaging members will ensure both their understanding and their personal investment in carrying out the control measures decided upon.
Consider if your choir, or the community supporting the choir, has members with skills relevant to health planning and management, and who have capacity to assist the choir prepare for safer rehearsals/gatherings.
Your organisation will have its own unique set of conditions—group size, geographical location, rehearsal venue characteristics and member demographic, including their individual underlying health conditions— that you will need to identify and take into account when developing a plan to manage rehearsals into the future.
At present there is no risk-free situation—you will need make decisions about the level of risk you and your members are comfortable with. For example, age may be a factor in deciding on some of the control measures.
Think also about the particular makeup of your group and how they might adapt or react to what you are proposing. What might be acceptable to people with low-risk health profiles might cause anxiety in others. Appendix Two outlines some specific demographic profiles.
You may decide that risk of transmission is not the only risk to contend with. Many choirs are specifically brought together for the benefit of the singers mental health and the mutual support that singing together provides in difficult times. You may decide to place significant weight on this aspect in assessing your priorities.
We have outlined the potential hazards and identified measures you could take, but you will need to apply them to your own choir setting by:
The following pages outline a number of control measures you could take to mitigate against the risks of COVID spread in your choir setting. Choose the measures that will most effectively mitigate against them and develop a plan of action.
Whilst you should develop a plan appropriate to your circumstances, we do urge you to take note of our recommendations on Page 12 regarding ’More is better’.
Depending on your circumstances and the size of your organisation, a plan could be as simple as writing down notes from a discussion with the people involved, or a detailed and formally documented plan that you can distribute to members.
It can be as easy as making a plan that one person puts away the chairs, observing that it’s done according to the plan and reminding people of the agreed procedure.
You should undertake a review of your plan each time circumstances change and at least in the following circumstances:
More information: SafeWork Australia website
The content of "How Can We Keep From Singing: COVID-19 Risk Management Guidance for South Australian Group Singing" is provided for information purposes only. While care has been taken that the material contained is accurate and up-to-date at the time of publication, the information is provided on the basis that all persons having access to this Guidance will assume responsibility for assessing the relevance, completeness, currency and accuracy of its content and for the application of any information to their own particular circumstances. The subject matter of the report is in a dynamic field of rapidly changing conditions and increasing knowledge. Adelaide Choral Network disclaim any liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on any information contained in it (or any use of such information) which is provided in this Guidance or incorporated into it by reference.
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