Can You Move House During Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

This guide will give you some pointers on how to move during a pandemic/ lockdown

Our customers are the heart of our family business, we have been operating for 20 years and continue to thrive thanks to our loyal customers.

COVID-19 has brought a lot of uncertainty to our day-to-day lives, let alone when you’re moving house. So, is moving house still permitted during a pandemic and during a lockdown? Currently, the government has not put restrictions on removalists and still class the industry as essential services. The restrictions have been applied to businesses that increase the rate of transmission such as bars, cafes, restaurants, etc. Hiring removalists and moving houses has been specifically noted by a number of government agencies as being a legitimate reason to leave your house during Coronavirus restrictions.

While these exemptions from lockdown measures do permit you to move, we advise that we make sure it is a necessity that you move at this time and if so that we take all precautions possible to help protect not only our customers but also our staff. Rules are changing on a day to day basis. However, be assured that we are staying on top of all the changes as they come.

What precautions can I take to move house safely during Coronavirus?

We are in regular discussion with our removalists to ensure strict hygiene and personal health measures are in place at all times.

• Removalists should have a hand sanitizer in the truck at all times and use it frequently.
• The England Journal of Medicine published a study that identified that Coronavirus can live on cardboard for up to 24 hours. Items should be removed from cardboard boxes and the boxes removed from the home as quickly as possible. Try to avoid touching your face while unpacking boxes, and thoroughly wash your hands between boxes.
• Customers are advised not to assist with the move. Please remain at least 1.5 meters away from the removalists where possible and also lower the number of people on-site during your move where possible.
• Our office will make a confirmation call the day before you move to confirm that you are not feeling unwell with flu-like symptoms. If you are feeling unwell, you should notify the removal company as soon as possible to reschedule.

At present we are operating in a fixed team environment to help minimize the chances of the virus spreading through the company. We have also minimized access to our office unless necessary. We are still open during business hours to answer any questions or queries you have via phone or email for any bookings, changes to current bookings or to chat about any concerns you may have.

Our staff has been told to inform management straight away if they are showing any symptoms or have been in close contact, so please keep this in mind as we may need to change the time of your move for one of our other teams to complete for your safety and ours.

So what do we ask of our clients?

In the past 14 days, have you traveled overseas, been in contact with a known COVID-19 carrier or exhibited symptoms such as fever or coughing? Please inform us at least 24 hours before the move so we can make the necessary arrangements.

We also ask all customers that our customers follow good health and hygiene practices. This means:

• Let us know asap if you need to reschedule if you have any flu-like symptoms.
• Please wear a mask around our staff.
• Find a way to distance yourself from the movers once they commence their work. You can isolate yourself in a room that isn’t being entered at that point in time.

So as the restrictions change we will update our staff on the protocol as different situations arise. We are in ever changing times and take your safety and that of our staff very seriously. Get in touch today!