Safety Measures

Azure has a focused COVID-19 response plan with a wide range of safety protocols, cleaning measures and ongoing staff training. Azure has created a new Health Ambassador role to support our response, this individual works closely with local health department teams to implement necessary local, county, state and federal safety measures.

Further, all employees are required to follow mandates that are the fundamental preventative practices to protect our collective health and include, but are not limited to:

In accordance to state and local guidelines, our facilities and employees adhere to all physical distancing requirements.

In accordance with safety protocols outlined by the Center for Disease Control, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois, all staff and guests are required to wear a face covering or masks on-site at Shedd Aquarium. Masks covering mouth and nose are required for those over 2-years old.

All team members have been retrained on the World Health Organization hand washing method. Employees are trained to wash their hands approximately every hour, before and after every shift, before and after eating, after touching their face, after the removal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), after using the restroom, after handling waste materials and before, during, and after completing a different phase of a work assignment.

All employees have been trained to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing followed by performing hand washing method as recommended by the World Health Organization.

A specialized custodial team wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) cleans the aquarium overnight. The team uses electrostatic sprayers, misters and vacuum equipment with high-efficiency particular air (HEPA) filters to make sure hard to reach surfaces are not missed. Not all of this equipment will visible to guests as it’s used after-hours.

We established employee wellness checks before shifts and employees with flu-like symptoms or temperatures will remain at home.

Rigorous cleaning and sanitizing procedures and schedules of frequently touched surfaces have been implemented. All areas will be cleaned and sanitized daily at the beginning of operations and approximately every hour. We will continue to the use of the recommended cleaning products, chemicals and usage methods as established by the EPA guidelines and FDA food codes.