As we navigate the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to serve our community safely at the Kelowna Visitor Centre (KVC) remains a top priority. Throughout the past year, our Visitor Experience team has been adhering to robust health and safety measures while providing information to residents, and visitors when non-essential travel was allowed, on how to explore safely and respectfully in and around Kelowna.
Some of the key health and safety measures in place at the KVC are:
- Anyone entering the building must wear a mask, sanitize their hands upon entry, and maintain a safe distance from others.
- All high-touch surfaces within the building are sanitized using high quality disinfectant (Dyna Quat) every 1-2 hours.
- Items such as the point-of-sale reader and iPad are sanitized after each customer use.
- The building’s HVAC system exchanges air within the building for fresh air from outside 3-4 times per hour which is above industry standard.
"Our team worked diligently on preparing and implementing a robust COVID-19 Safety Plan and we continue to adhere strictly to these protocols in order to keep our community and our team safe," says Director of Visitor Experience, Chris Lewis.
This continued adherence to health and safety was of the utmost importance when a team member who worked on Friday, April 2, tested positive for COVID-19. In response to this positive case, the KVC was closed to the public for a full 72 hours, during which time it was fully cleaned and sprayed with a sanitizing fog. Our team is in contact with public health and WorkSafeBC and any staff member who may have been exposed is self-isolating at home. The building is again open to the public, staffed with team members who were not directly exposed, and service continues with strong public health measures in place.
In addition to providing assistance in-person at the KVC, our team is also available by phone, email, LiveChat, and through social media to provide residents with ways to #exploreKelownalocal safely, and to provide visitors with information regarding essential or future travel. Merchandise sales continue to be available online through our Love for Kelowna website as well.
As a reminder, all businesses are required to post an up-to-date COVID-19 Safety Plan on their website and in their place of business, so consumers can easily find information about the protocols that are in place. We would encourage all local tourism businesses to continue highlighting and sharing your health and safety protocols through social media posts and on your websites, as this will assist in maintaining and building consumer confidence.
While we continue to work together through the pandemic, serving our community safely, doing our part to reduce transmissions, and protecting our community will remain our top priority.
If you have any questions about the KVC's COVID-19 Safety Plan or the recent temporary closure, please contact Director of Visitor Experience, Chris Lewis, at chris@tourismkelowna.com or (250) 861-1515 ext. 207.