IMPORTANT UPDATE

Following the government announcements issued this week my professional association have issued the following guidance specific to ecology.

I have carried out an additional risk assessment and identified the following key risks of transmission from my work that would mean there could not be no risk of transmission.

1. Driving to site – the risk of a car accident is never zero and would put me in contact with rescue services, which both risks my infecting them and takes them away from the priority of dealing with the virus.
2. Working with others or in public places – while there is no evidence that coronavirus is spread simply by being in the open air it is spread by being within 2m of another person. An approach of avoiding people is not practical for work purposes that may require being in a specific location.

Based on the above I have come to the difficult decision that. I will only be accepting survey work if.

1. The work can be done by one person working alone.
2. The work is part of a scheme that is essential for public safety or animal welfare, this has been agreed with the police and a police document to that effect has been issued.
3. It is within walking distance of my home address.
4. It can be carried out in a secure area that the public do not have access to and that can be accessed without contact with others – e.g a fenced compound with an entry code.

Any work that does not meet these criteria will be refused.

At this time I continue to be available for work that can be conducted from home such as desktop assessment. However I will keep the financial viability of running the business on this basis under constant review and may opt to suspend all services and ‘furlough’ myself in order to receive the available government support should that option be the more reliable way of continuing.