OATA says aquatics professionals can carry on working on garden ponds and home aquariums as long as they follow government guidelines on social distancing.
The trade body states: “The government advice is constantly being updated and clarified and there is now a range of information saying you can still work, even it is not considered ‘essential’ work, if your work cannot be done from home.
SAFETY IS “PRIORITY
“Ultimately it is for you to decide, in conjunction with your customers, whether you decide to carry on working in people’s homes and gardens. The priority should always be you, your staff and your customers’ safety and all work should be done within the social distancing and Public Health England advice.
“Pond consultants obviously work in people’s
gardens and with good communication with customers could set up systems that enable them to comply with social distancing.
“It is more difficult for aquarium consultants who go into someone’s home so it is really for you to
discuss with your customer. The priority must always be whether you can safeguard yours and your customer’s safety and comply with government advice.
“Aquarium consultants are likely to be carrying out essential animal welfare work if you have a regular maintenance contract so this would be an important service to continue to offer.”
