what should a business do if an employee gets Covid-19

What To Do if an Employee Gets Covid-19?

November 20, 2020 David Scott

As we find ourselves in the final days of 2020 we find ourselves maintaining the fragile balance of trying to keep our businesses open and operating as normal as possible while protecting our teams and clients. It’s more on our minds than ever. If you’ve had a confirmed case of COVID-19 in your business, we strongly recommend contacting Bio-One of Tucson for COVID-19 disinfecting services. However, you may also need some guidance on what to do if one of your employees advises that they have received a positive test for Coronavirus.

Disinfecting Your Business From COVID-19

• Employee Reports Positive Case - According to the CDC once an employee reports a positive case of Covid-19, or reports close contact with someone who has tested positive of Covid-19, they should self quarantine at home for 10-20 days. They should be urged to contact a health care provider even if they do not show signs or symptoms as he or she can still transmit the disease.

• The CDC has noted that Covid-19 exposure is transmitted through close contact. Close contact as defined by the CDC for these purposes is anyone who is within six feet of an infected individual for longer than 15 minutes. This includes the 48 hours prior to the onset of symptoms in the infected individual.

• Under the OSHA General Duty requirements an employer will want to notify other employees that may have been exposed to the confirmed Covid-19 employee as soon as possible to reduce further risk of exposure. However, it is imperative that the employer does not release the name of the exposed employee to prevent potential privacy concerns.

• Vacate and clean the workspaces and common areas that were contaminated. Although it is possible to clean on your own many businesses have opted to instead have a certified company such as Bio-One of Tucson sanitize their places of business as they have tools that allow cleaning to cover every surface in the contaminated space, and as it minimizes the risk to essential personnel in the business if they are not required to do the sanitization themselves.

In reality, if you’re positive that your business has been exposed to COVID-19, the best thing you can do is call Bio-One of Tucson for COVID-19 cleaning and disinfecting services. We have the ability to provide after-hour and weekend appointments at no additional charge to help prevent the amount of time your business is closed due to an active case of Covid-19. It’s one thing to take precautions, but if you’re absolutely sure your building has been infected, it’s not something you want to leave to chance — we are helping our community minimize the impact of this pandemic through the fastidious decontamination of homes and business of those that have been infected. Contact us today!