Coronavirus/COVID-19 Policy and Waiver of Liability & Release Relating to Coronavirus/COVID-19
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 is extremely contagious. The state of medical knowledge is evolving but the virus is believed to spread from person-to-person contact and/or by contact with contaminated surfaces and objects, and even possibly in the air. People reportedly can be infected and show no symptoms and therefore spread the disease. The exact methods of spread and contraction are unknown, and there is no known treatment, cure, or vaccine for COVID-19. Evidence has shown that COVID-19 can cause serious and potentially life threatening illness and even death, no matter a person’s age or gender.
Destination Sitters, LLC cannot prevent you or your child(ren) from becoming exposed to, contracting, or spreading COVID-19 while utilizing Destination Sitters’ babysitter referral services. While Destination Sitters does ask potential babysitters if they have experienced symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough or shortness of breath, and tells babysitters that they must not go on a sit if within the last fourteen (14) days they have or are suspected of having or have shown any symptoms or have been exposed to anyone known to have or suspected of having the virus or to have been in locations subject to a CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice (available at CDC Travel Notices) (and, if so, whether they have been self-quarantining for at least fourteen (14) days), babysitters may not know if they have symptoms, may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, and may not know that someone to whom they have been exposed has the virus. Therefore, for these and the reasons stated above, it is not possible to prevent against the presence of the disease.
Destination Sitters, LLC also endeavors to reduce the chances of babysitters’ being exposed to the virus and to that end if you request a referral, you are representing on behalf of yourself and your family members that neither you nor other family members have, within the fourteen (14) days before the requested date(s) of service, returned from or to your knowledge have been exposed to a person who has been in locations subject to a CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice or to your knowledge have been exposed to any person who has a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, and that none of the above, including you and your family members, has shown or experienced symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough, or shortness of breath, or other known symptoms of COVID-19.
Assumption of Risk: By requesting Destination Sitters to refer a sitter to you, you agree on behalf of yourself and your family, including your child(ren), that you have read and understood the above warning concerning COVID-19 and that you choose to accept the risk of contracting COVID-19 for yourself and your family, including your child(ren) in order to utilize Destination Sitters, LLC’s babysitter referral services. You are representing that these services are of such value to you, your family, and your child(ren) that you accept the risk of being exposed to, contracting, and/or spreading COVID-19 in order to utilize the services of Destination Sitters.
You also affirm that the answers to all of the following questions are “no” and that they will be “no” at the time of the sit:
Have you or a family member experienced within the last fourteen (14) days:
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| _____ | _____ | fever |
| _____ | _____ | cough |
| _____ | _____ | shortness of breath |
| _____ | _____ | stomach pains |
| _____ | _____ | other symptoms known to be associated with COVID-19 |
Have you within the last fourteen (14) days:
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| _____ | _____ | been exposed to anyone known to have or suspected of having the virus |
| _____ | _____ | returned from locations subject to a CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice (available at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices) |
| _____ | _____ | been exposed to anyone known to have or suspected of having returned from locations subject to a CDC Level 3 Travel Health Notice. |
Unless the answer to each of the above is “no” for at least fourteen (14) days before the date of the sit, Destination Sitters will not refer a sitter.
Sitters who are referred by Destination Sitters are also asked the above questions and the answers must also be “no” for at least fourteen (14) days before the date of the sit or the sitter may not go on the sit.
Destination Sitters also tells each referred sitter to social distance whenever possible (by maintaining at least six (6) feet of distance between the sitter and others) and to have the children social distance when around other people, to avoid touching public surfaces (including, as an example only, elevator buttons), to wash the sitters’ hands for at least twenty (20) seconds with soap after touching surfaces and the like, and as soon as the sitter first enters the hotel room or babysitting area and before touching the children or surfaces in their hotel room or babysitting area), and to avoid touching others as much as possible (including by not shaking hands with the parents or other adults). Sitters are also told to bring hand sanitizer containing at least 70% alcohol on the sit (though the sitter will try first to hand wash--it is most effective) and that hand sanitizer should never be ingested; to bring Lysol or similar cleaning wipes to use on the sit; and to wear a mask when possible while on the sit.
Waiver of Lawsuit/Liability & Release: By requesting and accepting services, you agree to hold harmless and forever release from liability and waive your rights to bring suit against Destination Sitters, LLC and its owners, officers, directors, managers, officials, agents, employees, the babysitters who are referred to you, or other representatives of Destination Sitters, LLC in connection with exposure, infection, and/or spread of COVID-19 related to utilizing Destination Sitters, LLC’s services. You understand that this waiver means that you give up your right and the right of your family, your child(ren), and your heirs and assigns to bring claims, including, but not limited, for negligence, which claims could include, without limitation, claims for personal injuries, death, disease, or any other loss; you give up any claim you have to seek damages, whether known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen; and you expressly waive and relinquish, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all provisions, rights, and benefits of California Civil Code Section 1542 (or any similar provision), which states as follows:
A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.
The law of California will apply to this Waiver of Liability and Release, without giving effect to its conflict of laws provisions, and the forum shall be the state and federal courts located in Orange County, California.