Control and Prevention
Measures for protecting workers from exposure to, and infection with, the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 depend on the type of work being performed and exposure risk, including potential for interaction with infectious people and contamination of the work environment. Employers should adapt infection control strategies based on a thorough hazard assessment, using appropriate combinations of engineering and administrative controls, safe work practices, and personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent worker exposures. Some OSHA standards that apply to preventing occupational exposure to COVID-19 also require employers to train workers on elements of infection prevention, including PPE.
For all workers, regardless of specific exposure risks, it is always a good practice to:
- Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. When soap and running water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand rub with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands that are visibly soiled.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
In all workplaces where exposure to the COVID-19 may occur, prompt identification and isolation of potentially infectious individuals is a critical first step in protecting workers, visitors, and others at the worksite.
- Immediately isolate people suspected of having COVID-19. For example, move potentially infectious people to isolation rooms and close the doors. On an aircraft, move potentially infectious people to seats away from passengers and crew, if possible and without compromising aviation safety. In other worksites, move potentially infectious people to a location away from workers, customers, and other visitors.
- Take steps to limit spread of the person’s infectious respiratory secretions, including by providing them a facemask and asking them to wear it, if they can tolerate doing so. Note: A surgical mask on a patient or other sick person should not be confused with PPE for a worker; the mask acts to contain potentially infectious respiratory secretions at the source (i.e., the person’s nose and mouth).
- Restrict the number of personnel entering isolation areas, including the room of a patient with suspected/confirmed COVID-19.
- Protect workers in close contact* with the sick person by using additional engineering and administrative control, safe work practices and PPE.
- Protect workers in close contact* with the sick person by using additional engineering and administrative control, safe work practices and PPE.
Interim guidance for specific worker groups and their employers
This section provides information for specific worker groups and their employers who may have potential exposures to COVID-19. Guidance for each worker group generally follows the hierarchy of controls, including engineering controls, administrative controls, safe work practices, and PPE. However, not all types of controls are provided in each section; in those cases, employers and workers should consult the interim general guidance for U.S. workers and employers of workers with potential occupational exposures to COVID-19, above.
How worried should you be about the new coronavirus, COVID-19? An expert on infectious diseases answers your COVID-19 questions.
The new virus continues to cause deaths, illnesses and major economic upheaval in China, but health officials in the U.S. so far have managed to prevent the spread of this illness here.
At this point, of the 15 people who have contracted COVID-19 in the U.S.,13 had traveled to Wuhan, China, where the virus is believed to have jumped from animals to humans. Two others in the U.S. contracted the illness from their spouses. U.S. health officials also evacuated Americans from a cruise ship in Asia. At least 14 have COVID-19 and are being treated her in the U.S.
Thus far, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colorado.
Can I get COVID-19 from packages sent to me from China?
No,
“Viruses, including coronavirus cannot live outside the body for prolonged periods of time. Under the right conditions, including the right humidity and the right temperature, this virus might survive on a surface for 30 minutes. And that would be under very optimized conditions,” Barron said.
Any packages from China have traveled in extreme temperatures – either cold or hot – for many, many hours. And, even if someone with coronavirus sneezed or coughed on a package, the infectious virus would have dried up and died long before the package made its way to a recipient here.
Can I get COVID-19 from Chinese food or Asian markets in the U.S.?
No,
In Chinatowns and Asian restaurants and markets around the U.S., fears about coronavirus have caused customers to stay away. Here in Colorado, friends have asked Barron if they should skip Chinese food because of the new coronavirus outbreak.
The answer is an adamant “no.”
“Chinese food is cooked. These viruses don’t survive outside of the body. So, you can’t get them from Chinese food or Chinese markets in the U.S. Restaurants here are fine. They are regulated by health departments. If you’re getting food, heat will kill this. It can’t just hang out and survive,” she said.
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2020/01/19
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