COVID-19 may subside but viruses still pose threat

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia may be near, but there’s no reason to let up on safety initiatives, according to the provincial government.

The provincial health officer recently issued a statement advising employers to start shifting from COVID-19 safety plans to communicable disease prevention.

“Given the positive results for workplaces, we are going to build on the lessons learned from implementation of COVID-19 specific safety plans, which have provided important guidance for employers, and move to incorporating the important principles of communicable disease prevention into all workplaces,” said Bonnie Henry.

This means employers must ensure that fundamental measures of communicable disease prevention are in place, including appropriate handwashing and personal hygiene practices, appropriate ventilation, and staying home when sick.

Employers must also be prepared to implement or maintain additional measures at times when the risk of communicable disease in their region or workplace is elevated, says Henry.

In April, B.C. made it official that employees in the province can take up to three hours of paid leave to get the COVID-19 vaccination

Guide for employers

To that end, WorkSafeBC has released a guide to help employers.

“As COVID-19 vaccinations have become widely available to British Columbians, the overall risk of COVID-19 transmission and serious consequences has diminished. Despite this, the virus will still circulate like other communicable diseases,” it says.

To prevent the spread of these viruses, employers should focus on basic risk-reduction principles based on these components:

• Implement policies to support staff who may be sick with a communicable disease, so they can avoid being at the workplace.
• Promote hand hygiene by providing hand-hygiene facilities with appropriate supplies, and remind employees through policies and signage to wash their hands regularly.
• Maintain a clean environment through routine cleaning processes.
• Ensure building ventilation is properly maintained and functioning as designed.
• Support vaccination for vaccine preventable conditions to the extent possible.
• Implement measures as directed by the provincial health officer (PHO) or a medical health officer to deal with communicable diseases in the workplace or region

The safety of people while inside buildings has been a crucial consideration as the health crisis continues, according to an expert. And the quality of air in an office space will also be important, according to another expert.

Safety steps

The basic steps employers can take to lower the risk of workplace transmission, according to WorkSafeBC, include:

1. understanding the risk
2. implement measures, practices and policies to reduce the risk
3. communicating measures, practices and policies
4. monitoring your workplace and update plan as necessary.

Some common hygiene practices worth reiterating to employees during cold and flu season, according to Randstad, include:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap.
• Sneeze and cough into a sleeve instead of your hands.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Always wash hands before eating.
• Dispose of tissues immediately.
• Wipe down your workspace (desk, keyboard, mouse, etc.) often.

Stay home from work if you’re feeling ill (i.e. fever, sore throat, coughing, difficulty breathing, vomiting, headaches, ear pain) even if you think the symptoms are minor.