Keeping Work, Home, Schools, and Public Places Safe from Coronavirus
Keeping Work, Home, Schools, and Public Places Safe from Coronavirus
03/17/20 Laura Gibbons
Here’s what every American and community can do now to decrease the spread of the coronavirus.
Keeping workplace, schools, and commercial establishments safe
At the workplace, encourage your employees to follow these precautions. At school, encourage your faculty, staff, and students to follow the tips below. At commercial establishments, include your employees and customers in these reminders.
Practice good hygiene.
• Stop handshaking—use other noncontact methods of greeting.
• Clean hands at the door and at regular intervals. At work or in commercial establishments, schedule regular handwashing reminders by email.
• Create habits and reminders to avoid touching their faces and cover coughs and sneezes.
• Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables, desks, and handrails regularly.
• Increase ventilation by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning.
Handle food carefully.
• Limit food sharing.
• Strengthen health screening for cafeteria staff and their close contacts.
• Ensure cafeteria staff and their close contacts practice strict hygiene.
Stay home if…
• They are feeling sick.
• They have a sick family member in their home.
At work: Be careful with meetings and travel.
• Use videoconferencing for meetings when possible.
• When not possible, hold meetings in open, well-ventilated spaces.
• Consider adjusting or postponing large meetings or gatherings.
• Assess the risks of business travel.
At school: Consider rearranging large activities and gatherings.
• Consider adjusting or postponing gatherings that mix between classes and grades.
• Adjust after-school arrangements to avoid mixing between classes and grades.
• When possible, hold classes outdoors or in open, well-ventilated spaces.
Extra Tips for Commercial Establishments
• Promote tap and pay to limit handling of cash.
• Avoid crowding:
o Use booking and scheduling to stagger customer flow.
o Use online transactions where possible.
o Consider limiting attendance at larger gatherings.
Keeping the Home Safe: Encourage your family members to do the following.
All Households
• Clean hands at the door and at regular intervals.
• Create habits and reminders to avoid touching their face and cover coughs and sneezes.
• Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables, and handrails regularly.
• Increase ventilation by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning.
Households with Sick Family Members
• Give sick members their own room if possible, and keep the door closed.
• Have only one family member care for them.
• Consider providing additional protections or more intensive care for household members over 65 years old or with underlying conditions.
Households with Vulnerable Seniors or Those with Significant Underlying Conditions
Significant underlying conditions include heart, lung, kidney disease; diabetes; and conditions that suppress the immune system. Follow special precautions:
• Have the healthy people in the household conduct themselves as if they were a significant risk to the person with underlying conditions. For example, wash hands frequently before interacting with the person, such as by feeding or caring for the person.
• If possible, provide a protected space for vulnerable household members.
• Ensure all utensils and surfaces are cleaned regularly.
For Transportation Businesses, Taxis, and Ride Shares
• Keep windows open when possible.
• Increase ventilation.
• Regularly disinfect surfaces.
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Source: White House Coronavirus Task Force. (2020, March). What you need to know about keeping workplaces, homes, schools, or commercial establishments safe. Retrieved March 11, 2020, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website: https://www.cdc.gov