While companies that can allow their employees to work remotely should continue to do so, many are reopening their doors and having employees return to work. In addition to offices, businesses like grocery stores and gas stations never closed, as they served an important purpose in providing an essential service. No matter the type of business that you run, your employees run the risk of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to their co-workers, clients, and customers. So, what do you do if an employee contracts COVID-19? In order to prevent this from happening, or at least minimize the risk as much as possible, there are some best practices that companies should follow.
Alert Your Other Employees
Telling your other employees is the first thing that you need to do upon discovering that one of your workers tested positive for COVID-19. While you still need to follow HIPAA laws and can’t reveal the identity of the co-worker who has the virus, you do have to inform your staff, especially if they were in close contact with that person. The best method of informing them is over the phone, individually (if possible) after the workday is completed, or, if you find out that morning, send out a company-wide email. It’s important to not gather everyone in for a meeting, just in case one or more people have also been exposed.
Have Employees Follow Quarantine Protocols
Next, every employee who either came into contact with the infected person or potentially wound up near them should be sent home and instructed to follow quarantine protocols. At this time, they need to spend 14 days without physical contact with anyone, except possibly for the people that they live with. This is to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread any further. You can have those workers who aren’t sick work from home if necessary or possible.
Clean Every Space the Infected Worker Entered
Once your potentially exposed employees have gone home, you next need to get your cleaning crews into place. Although you should be following certain cleaning protocols anyway to ensure that COVID-19 doesn’t linger on any communal surfaces, it’s essential to disinfect every section of your business, especially those that you know your infected employee entered or touched. Everything from the bathroom to their cubicle, the break room, entryway, and all areas in between need to be clean and disinfected using EPA protocols by people wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
Allow Workers to Return Based on Medical Advice
After the 14-day quarantine period is up, any of your employees who didn’t contract the virus can return to work, provided, of course, they haven’t been near anyone else who’s had COVID in the meantime. For employees who contracted COVID-19 and showed symptoms, it’s important that they follow their doctor’s recommendations. When they are symptom-free, test negative for the virus, and are feeling better, as long as their health care practitioner says that they can go back to work, you can allow them to return to the office. The length of time that they end up being out of work can vary, but make sure to give them plenty of time to heal and recover.
If an employee contracts COVID-19, it can be a slightly scary time for everyone in your office. But if you proactively work to ensure your other employees’ safety, you will ease their minds and keep them as safe and healthy as possible.