NIOSH: Employees who might have coronavirus ought to be sent home

If you suspect that a crew member could be suffering from coronavirus, your best bet is to immediately isolate the person and send him or her home until further notice.

By taking this course of action, you’ll be in compliance with guidelines recently issued by NIOSH on how companies should respond to COVID-19.

The guidance also suggests that supervisors no longer require a doctor’s note from people who stay at home with an acute respiratory illness.

And the document recommends that employers contact third-party contractors in order to confirm that they’re requiring their employees to stay home – before they come to your facility and spread the illness.

Employers should also be making sure that frequently touched surfaces such as workstations, countertops and doorknobs are regularly cleaned.

(From the March 30, 2020, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors)