Covid-19 Policy
UPDATED 19th Janaury 2022
The Paisley Book Festival is committed to running COVID safe events when we return in February 2022 with a blended programme of digital and live events. We are informed by the Scottish Government, Renfrewshire Council and other relevant industry authorities on minimum appropriate measures to prioritise the safety of everyone who plans to visit the Paisley Book Festival. We will continue to monitor the situation and reserve the right to amend our guidance within the T&Cs to keep our audiences, participants, volunteers and staff as safe as possible. The safety of our audiences, participants, volunteers and staff is our highest priority.
Our programme of events has been curated to ensure we can deliver them within the parameters of the government guidelines.
By law, everyone aged 12 and over must wear a face covering, unless exempt, in most indoor public spaces. We expect visitors to comply with Scottish Government guidelines and to wear face coverings inside our venues.
We are encouraging visitors over the age of 18 years to only consider attending in person if they have been double vaccinated against COVID for at least 2 weeks prior to their visit.
We do not require proof of vaccination status from our audience members to grant entry to our spaces. However the Paisley Book Festival is a vaccine supportive organisation, therefore, if you are over 18 and you have not been fully vaccinated, we recommend that you do not attend the Festival for your own safety and that of other visitors, participants, volunteers and staff.
We will be providing hand sanitisation stations across the site and will be maximising ventilation in all our indoor venues. We will continue to monitor the situation and reserve the right to amend our guidance within the T&Cs to keep our audiences, participants, volunteers and staff as safe as possible.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19 please refrain from entering our venue and book a test. Whilst we do not require proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to attend events at the Paisley Book Festival, we recommend that visitors take a lateral flow test before arriving at the venue.
Visitors, participants, volunteers and staff must agree NOT to attend if they answer YES to any of the following questions at any time during the event:
- Are you feeling unwell, including a high temperature, new continuous cough and a loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste?
- Are you currently required to isolate following a visit to an area or country where quarantine is required upon return?
- Have you been told to self-isolate by a government test and trace service?
In addition, you should not attend if you answer YES to either of the following until you have received a negative PCR test:
- Is anyone in your household suffering with COVID-19 or COVID-19 symptoms?
- Have you been in close contact with anyone who has COVID-19 or anyone who has been showing symptoms?
Visitors, participants, volunteers and staff must agree to leave immediately if they develop COVID-19 symptoms at any time during the event.
All attendees must agree to be considerate to those around them at all times and respectful of all safety measures at the Festival.
We will limit the overall number of audience members for all events to maintain social distancing measures. This means venue capacities are lower than normal.
- Doors to the venue will open earlier to avoid queues forming.
- Doors will open approximately 20 minutes prior to the start of the event.
- Where required, queuing will take place outside the venue. Social distancing markers will be in place. Please dress according to the weather.
- Masks must be worn at all times during events. We also advise wearing masks while queuing outside.
- We understand that not everyone can wear a mask and respectfully ask that anyone exempt from wearing a mask carries an exemption card or wears a sunflower lanyard. We ask you to maintain a safe distance from others and that others also respect your space. Not all disabilities are visible – please be kind.
- Audience members will be required to show their booking confirmation at the door where staff and / or volunteers will check them in against a customer list.
- Volunteers will direct audience members to their seats. Audiences will not be free to choose where to sit.
- Audience members with special access requirements will be permitted to enter the venue first.
- Social distancing will be in place across all venues.
- Where available and reasonable, windows and doors will remain open for improved ventilation. This may make venues colder than you would normally expect. Please dress appropriately or bring a blanket.
- There will be frequent and enhanced cleaning of public areas, toilets and touch points around the venues.
- Hand sanitiser will be provided at the entrance to each venue and we encourage everyone entering the venue to utilise it.
- Contactless payment will be encouraged at the venue bar and in the Festival Bookshop.
Staff and volunteers
- All staff and volunteers in public-facing roles at Paisley Book Festival will be double vaccinated and required to wear a mask.
- Staff and volunteers who have not been double vaccinated will, for their safety and the safety of others, only be permitted to support in non-public facing roles.
- Staff and volunteers, in any role, commit to regular lateral flow testing in advance of and during the Paisley Book Festival. For those involved throughout, this will include testing every 3 days.
Children under 18 years
- As with adults, children who: have COVID-19; are feeling unwell or showing symptoms of COVID-19; have been told to self-isolate; or have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 and are awaiting PCR test results, must not attend the festival.
- While we appreciate that it is more difficult to ensure social distancing between children, measures will be in place to support this as much as possible and we respectfully ask parents/guardians to encourage social distancing during attendance.
