Important:
Galapagos Center Expeditions in the concern to safeguard the safety of people who decide to visit Ecuador and aim to protect them from the Covid-19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, we developed the following standards of prevention.
We follow all the rules issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Public Health and National Agency of Regulation, Control and Sanitary Surveillance.
- Operation Protocol of the Tourist Land Transport Service during the Traffic Lights.
- MTT6-PRT-008 (General Protocol of Biosecurity Measures for Tourist Services Agencies, Tour Operators and Travel Agencies at the time of reopening)
GENERAL
LAND TRANSPORT
DRIVER AND PASSENGER MEASURES
- The driver will wear appropriate clothing (biosafety suits, surgical or appropriate mask, glasses or biosafety lenses)
- Driver’s presence: short nails and no accessories
- We have a symptom monitoring protocol for our drivers.
- We will disinfect passengers’ shoes with disinfection trays and passengers’ luggage by spraying quaternary ammonium 5th generation or alcohol before boarding the unit
- We will check that the passengers carry the safety implements (adequate clothing, surgical or appropriate mask and glasses)
- Keep the distance between people at least 2 meters (private services)
- Passengers may travel with a maximum of 1 item of hand luggage and must place the rest of the luggage in the trunk.
- We will keep the windows easy to open for air circulation.
MEASURES SERVICE UNITS
- Cleaning and disinfection of the units at the beginning and end of each trip, according to the Protocol for Cleaning and Disinfection of Transport Units approved by the National EOC of Ecuador
- We will have inside the units a detailed log about the cleaning and disinfection in each service.
- Once the disinfection has been carried out, we will allow a prudent time for ventilation before the service to the passengers.
- Within the units users will find dispensers of liquid soap, gel and alcohol concentration 70%
- We will give each passenger a bottle of water to clean their hands
- We will place a sign in a visible place on the unit to identify the maximum number of passengers to use the vehicle.
- We will identify with signs the seats that will be used by the passengers keeping the distance 2 meters.
EN-ROUTE PROCEDURE
TOURISM OPERATION
- In all the activities that the guide and driver do with the passengers, they must always wash their hands and disinfect them by applying alcohol or 70% disinfectant gel, especially before having a snack or during lunch and dinner. These measures will be applied before and after the passengers are served their food.
- When passengers handle objects in any experience of the tour should be aware of applying alcohol or gel disinfectant 70%.
- Maintain the established social distance of at least 1 meter in open spaces and 2 meters in closed spaces.
Use of Toilets
- The guide will check if the site complies with biosecurity standards, through corresponding cleaning records.
- If anything new is found, the guide must immediately inform Galapagos Center Expeditions so that appropriate action can be taken.
Visit to Markets, Museums and Communities
- Our Guide will review if the site maintains the enabling biosecurity protocols proposed and reviewed in advance by the agency for the visit of the passengers, in case of finding any new developments will inform the agency for the corresponding measures always safeguarding the safety of visitors.
- We will inform the procedures to follow and protection for the passengers in the places to visit like: avoid shaking hands, avoid touching products or crafts and stop consuming food or drinks during the visit and the most important to maintain the social distance.
- Our guides are trained to follow the rules and take the passengers to places already established by the agency who after a supervision and control were selected for compliance to the protection and safety of passengers so that the guide is prohibited to make any change of place (restaurant, hotel, recommended stops, etc.)
Outdoor activities (cycling, rafting, canopy, etc.)
- We will perform in places that comply with biosecurity protocols always taking into account the safety of passengers.
- Our guides will be in charge of explaining and detailing to the clients the procedure to be followed on site.
Trips to Places of Difficult Access
- Our guides will be on the lookout for passengers with symptoms of Covid-19. If this is the case, the agency will be notified immediately and the passenger will be taken to the nearest health facility for screening.
- Our staff is trained on the procedures for dealing with suspicious cases of Covid-19 based on the Protocol established by the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador.