Surviving and thriving as the world shuts down

Last week we invited our sponsors to let us know what we can do to make life easier during these restricted days, and maybe even to find some positives that we could take forward into our post-viral future. This contribution is from our friends at StrataAnswers.

So you’re on a Strata Committee and not sure what your building should be doing for your residents about the Covid-19 threat? You could call your strata manager, but they are inundated with calls and, like you, are just trying to figure it all out.

If you haven’t had a post Covid 19 Strata Committee meeting yet, then get going and experience the joys of tele or video conferencing. The video version provides a much better feel for the “presence” of others; just control your frustration at the stuttering from limited bandwidth and you might become addicted and  wonder why you didn’t meet twice as often before, sorting out problems informally first and  leaving the formal meetings free for the decisions.

On the ground we’ve been busy making changes – the pool has been closed. Maybe you won’t catch anything from the water, but the government has mandated the closure of public areas.

Every lift now has a notice permitting only one person onboard at a time. 4 sqm social distancing is impossible in a 2 sqm box; imagine how scary it would be being in the lift with 3 more people piling in when it stops on level 2.

Having the cleaners sanitise lift buttons & door handles twice a day might help, but residents should be doing their bit and sanitising their hands. The building manager is installing hand sanitiser units in the garbage room and all the main lobbies.

We are already seeing the garbage pile up as the home isolated bring forward their annual cleanups and the homeworkers dump the packaging from their new flatscreens. A bit late now perhaps, but no time to waste in getting the e-waste and polystyrene recycling going.

The Committee knows it has to respect the privacy of residents, but if ever there was a time for keeping residents up to date with broadcasts on what’s happening, it’s now. If you have a system like Buildinglink [or Stratabox], then you’ve already got a Bulletin Board. Make use of it. Remember there’s also the “Neighbournet” function where residents can post requests for help with shopping etc.

For those who don’t have this, it’s not hard for the Committee to set up a portal. Has anyone thought of how the old and vulnerable residents are going to manage?

When all this is over and we are back to normal, your building could be a closer knit and more connected community, but the Strata Committee just has to get it right.