There are several things that you need to think about and action you need to take to get your church building ready for you to reopen for worship.
Testing of alarms, lighting etc
It is good practice to ensure the fire alarm, fire-fighting equipment, and emergency lighting are in good order and serviced, as well as ensuring fire exits and escape routes are clear and usable. Lighting and heating should be checked, and gas and electric testing should be up to date, so the building is safe to use.
Legionella
You should be aware of the possibility of Legionella. Where church buildings have been left unoccupied (or minimally occupied) during the lockdown period, there may be an increased risk of Legionella growth in water systems. You should therefore review your water hygiene risk assessments for all water systems. As a minimum, you should allow all water in the system to run out and if necessary, arrange for specialists to test and clean the water storage and pipework.
Cleaning
If a building has been unoccupied for more than 72 hours, there is no need to clean to protect against COVID-19, but cleaning buildings that have been empty is good practice for all sorts of other reasons.
For more information and guidance about opening up your church building check out our recent briefing paper ‘Coming out of Covid-19 – opening up church buildings for worship’
