Table of Contents:

Preparing the Workplace for COVID-19

• Intro to Course (5 minutes)
• What is COVID-19 (5 minutes)
• How a COVID-19 Outbreak Affects the Workplace (10 minutes)
• Steps Workplaces Can Do to Reduce Risk (20 minutes)
• What to Do to Protect Workers Based on their Employee Exposure Risk (10 minutes)
• Standalone test (10 minutes)

Course Content Example 1:

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

First reported in Wuhan City, China in December of 2019, COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that can potentially lead to death. It is considered the most contagious strain of coronavirus yet, and due to that was declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Symptoms can include: 

• Fever
• Cough/Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Loss of taste or smell
• and more

80% of patients with COVID-19 experience mild/moderate symptoms, while up to 20% will experience sever issues requiring hospitalization. It is also possible to be asymptomatic and show no signs of illness. The known percentage of asymptomatic carriers is limited at this time due to testing constraints. Similarly, it can take between 2 to 14 days, with an average of 5 days, for patients to start showing symptoms. The death rate is currently being reported between 2 to 4%, which makes it 10x deadlier than influenza

Currently there is no medical cure for COVID-19

Course Content Example 2:

What Should be in Your Infection Control Plan?

Your Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response plan should include such considerations as:

• Where, how, and to what sources of infectious diseases, like COVID-19, might workers be exposed to, including:
• The general public, customers, other coworkers
• Sick individuals or those who are high risk of infection - such as international travelers who have visited an area with an ongoing outbreak, or those with weakened immune systems  
• Non-occupational risk factors at home and in community settings
• Workers who live with those known or suspected to have COVID-19
• Those workers/workplaces that are in a geographical area with a known or suspected outbreak of COVID-19
• Workers' individual risk factors - older age, presence of chronic medical conditions
• Controls necessary to address those risks

Course Content Example 3:

Develop, Implement, and Communicate About Workplace Flexibility and Protections

Actively encourage sick employees to stay home!

Ensure that your sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance, communicate these with your employees

Talk with contract workers about the importance of them staying home if sick, encourage contract companies to develop non-punitive leave policies

It is recommended not to require a doctor's note when employees experience symptoms of a respiratory illness to validate their illness or to return to work. Healthcare providers may be extremely busy and not able to provide documentation in a timely manner

Maintain flexibility around employees needing to stay home to take care of a sick family member

Be aware of workers concerns around pay, leave, safety, health and other issues that may arise during an outbreak of an infectious disease

Work with insurance companies and local health care agencies to provide information to your staff and customers about medical care for a COVID-19 outbreak