WORKER PROTECTIONS AND PROTOCOLS FOR ALL WORKPLACES (MDH, DEED, DL, OSHA)

Ensure sick workers stay home:
1. Establish health screening protocols for workers at the start of each shift (e.g. health screening survey, taking temperature). See the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)’s Visitor and Employee Health Screening Checklist (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/facilityhlthscreen.pdf). The checklist is also available in Hmong, Somali, and Spanish (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/businesses.html).

2. Workers with COVID-19 symptoms should be sent home immediately. If they cannot be sent home immediately, isolate in a closed room until they can be sent home. Workers who have been in close contact with a household member with COVID should not be at work until their quarantine period is finished.

3. Establish communication protocols and steps to take when workers have been exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace.

4. Designate an individual to maintain communication with and gather information from workers who may be ill, as to ensure the privacy of workers is maintained.

5. Establish worker sickness reporting protocols.

6. Establish protocols for workers to return to work, and follow MDH Guidance (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/returntowork.pdf).

7. Establish a process to identify contact between infected workers and other workers who may have been exposed. (CDC Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), May 2020 (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html).

8. Evaluate and adjust sick leave policies to reflect the need for isolation and incentivize workers who are sick to stay home.

9. Provide accommodations for “high risk” and vulnerable populations. See CDC’s People Who are at Higher Risk for Severe Illness (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-at-higher-risk.html). Vulnerable workers should be encouraged to self-identify, and employers should avoid making unnecessary medical inquiries. Employers should take particular care to reduce these workers’ risk of exposure.

10. Clearly communicate sick leave policies to all workers.

What clients and customers can do to minimize the transmission:

1. Advise clients and customers to conduct a self-check of their body temperature the day of their appointment or reservation.

2. Limit the number of persons accompanying the client during appointment.

3. Post signage and develop messaging that if clients or customers do not feel well or have any symptoms compatible with COVID-19, they should stay home. They should also stay home if they have a household member experiencing symptoms compatible with COVID-19. Refer to CDC’s What to Do if You are Sick or Caring for Someone Who is Sick (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/index.html).

4. If customers or clients begin to feel unwell while in the workplace, they should leave immediately and isolate themselves at home. See CDC’s Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), May 2020 (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html).

5. Have customers and clients review a screening survey that checks for COVID-19 symptoms, close contacts with confirmed cases and quarantined cases, and recent out of continent travel. The questions would be the same as those completed by workers. MDH’s Visitor and Employee Health Screening Checklist (https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/facilityhlthscreen.pdf).

6. Encourage customers and clients to regularly wash and/or sanitize their hands.

7. Limit the equipment, products, or items touched by the customer or client while in workplace.

8. Have customers and clients wear a face covering or mask, other than when outside, unless not recommended for health or physical ability reasons. Cloth face coverings are NOT a substitute for maintaining a physical distance of 6-feet from other people. Refer to CDC guidance on cloth face coverings (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html).

9. Make sure each piece of equipment used is wiped down before and after each use by a customer.

THERMOMETERS
US Food and Drug Administration: Non-contact Infrared Thermometers
CDC: Non-Contact Temperature Measurement Devices: https://www.cdc.gov/
BBC Article: Coronavirus symptoms: Best way to use thermometers to detect COVID-19 revealed by doctor
Mayo Clinic: Thermometers: Understand the options
From Registered Nurse: How to Take a Temperature
From TEquipment: How to use an Infrared Thermometer to Test Skin Temperature
CBS Chicago: Taking Your Temperature In The COVID-19 Crisis
Henrico County Virginia: COVID-19 Awareness: Taking Your Temperature
Dr. Stu Weiss: Emergency Doctor and Pandemic Expert: COVID-19 Temperature Screening

EMPLOYEES EXHIBITING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19

CDC Resources:
How to Protect Yourself & Others: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

What To Do If You Are Sick: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html

MDH Resources:
About Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): The Basics: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html

Visitor and Employee Health Screening Checklist: www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/facilityhlthscreen.pdf