TSA vs COVID-19
/UPDATE March 19:
Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the March 20/21 PAL course and reschedule students for a later date. The range will be open and we will have regular staffed hours these days.
By now we’re all well-aware of the novel Coronavirus that has caused mass toilet-paper hoarding and public institution shutdowns all over the world. As gun-owners, we are perhaps a little better equipped than most to discern when the media may be trying to make something sound more dangerous than it really is, but we’re also not going to take unnecessary risks with our health.
Social distancing is an effective method of limiting contagion and preventing a massive overload on our healthcare systems, and we encourage that as a way to help others. We’re also big fans of personal hygiene as a means to keep oneself safe.
That being said, we feel that we have taken every precaution to keep our facilities clean and safe. We use disinfectant detergents to clean the classroom furniture, bathroom fixtures and other common-use surfaces. We have always had signs encouraging our members to wash their hands - anything that cleans away toxic lead residue and gun oil will also help prevent the spread of infectious disease.
We will be taking steps to upscale our sanitation practices, and we encourage all our members and their guests to make use of what we have.
As for the range itself, social distancing is essentially part of the design. Even during peak hours when multiple lanes are in use at the same time, each lane has a big barricade - effectively a big wooden sneeze-guard - to either side, and our ventilation system keeps all the air moving downrange away from the shooters.
Obviously, if you are experiencing Coronavirus symptoms (as outlined by Public Health Ontario), please stay home for a couple of weeks. We’ll still be here when you get better.
This brings up the question about how COVID-19 will affect our upcoming course schedule.
We have decided to cancel our scheduled March classes (this weekend). We have contacted our March students and let them know what was happening, and will make adjustments as needed. We will be attempting to provide extra hygiene amenities for the range. We’ll do our best to accommodate anyone who wants to reschedule their April course to a later date, and we ask that anyone who is feeling sick before the weekend of their scheduled course to please STAY HOME and contact us via phone, email or facebook so we can move you to a later course once you have recovered.
If the situation changes and we need to cancel more classes, we will contact the affected students directly and work out a solution. We are hoping this does not become necessary, because we understand how difficult it can be to rearrange one’s life around unexpected changes.
Stay safe, everyone, and wash your hands!
Some information resources:
Public Health Ontario
Government of Canada
World Health Organization