Develop a COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Plan for Your Business

As a business owner or manager, you need to develop a COVID-19 risk mitigation plan. You absolutely must be proactive by creating a comprehensive risk management plan that keeps all of your business’ stakeholders as safe and healthy as possible. In developing a business risk mitigation plan, there are a number of factors to take into consideration:

• Sources of COVID-19 to which your workers can be exposed
• Specific action to mitigate COVID-19 exposure
• Implement specific infection control measures
• Prearrange connection with a reputable COVID-19 cleaning company
• Identify and isolate sick individuals
• Implement workplace controls

Sources of COVID-19 to Which Your Workers Can Be Exposed

The operations of a specific business affect the manners in which workers can be exposed to COVID-19. With that said, there are a trio of broad avenues through which workers can be exposed, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

• General public, coworkers, and customers or clients
• Non-occupational sources
• Individual risks of workers (age and underlying medical conditions)

Specific Action to Mitigate COVID-19 Exposure

Both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and OSHA have made recommendations regarding the contingencies that need to be fully addressed in a workplace or business mitigation plan. These include:

• Increases rates of employee absenteeism 
• Social distancing
• Staggering work shifts
• Working remotely
• Cross-training employees
• Interruptions to supply chain and delivery

Implement Specific Infection Control Measures

The CDC and OSHA also have set forth an array of different infection control measures that should be implemented by a business in the workplace. These measures include:

• Promote frequent and thorough handwashing (each handwashing session lasting at least 20 seconds)
• Provide alcohol-based hand sanitizing products
• Encourage workers to stay home if they believe they are sick or becoming ill
• Encourage appropriate respiratory etiquette (covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue that is immediately thrown away or into the crux of a person’s arm)
• Provide tissues and trash receptacles 
• Flexible work shifts
• Broad use of telecommuting
• Discourage workers from using other’s workstations or offices, office equipment, tools, etc.
• Routine cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and common objects in the workplace (including door handles)

Prearrange Connection With a Reputable COVID-19 Cleaning Company

An integral component of creating a risk management plan for your business is taking a proactive approach in connecting with a COVID-19 cleaning company. In Southern California, Eco Bear is an industry leader when it comes to comprehensive infectious disease remediation, including COVID-19 cleaning.

For example, Eco Bear has a highly experienced team. The COVID-19 cleaning specialists at Eco Bear are all appropriately insured and bonded. Eco Bear has the latest equipment to combat all aspects of coronavirus contamination in a business or residence. These are all prime factors a business must consider when proactively connecting with a COVID-19 cleaning company.

Arranging a connection between a business and a COVID-19 cleaning company is not a complicated process. A business need only reach out to a coronavirus cleaning specialist and explain its needs in the event of a COVID-19 contamination on site. Working together, a business and COVID-19 remediation specialist will get an action plan in place in the event of a contamination in the workplace. 

Identify and Isolate Sick Individuals

One of the most crucial elements of a risk mitigation plan for your business is to identify and appropriately isolate sick individuals. Once again, CDC and OSHA make recommendations as to how sick individuals can be identified and isolated. These include:

• Encourage employees to monitor symptoms of a COVID-19 infection if they believe they may have been exposed to the coronavirus in some manner
• Encourage employees to self-report if they think they’ve been exposed to COVID-19
• Encourage employees to self-report if they experience what they think may be symptoms of a COVID-19 inspection
• Develop specific written policies on how to appropriately isolate an employee who develops what appear to be symptoms of a COVID-19 infection (isolation ideally being in a closed room until the worker can safely be removed) 

The basic early symptoms of a COVID-19 infection are:

• Fever (relatively quick onset)
• Cough (dry cough)
• Shortness of breath

Implement Workplace Controls

Finally, the CDC and OSHA have developed some specific recommendations about implementing workplace controls. These agencies have broken these recommendations into three categories:

• Engineering controls
• Administrative controls
• Safe work practices

When it comes to engineering controls, a workplace risk mitigation plan needs to include the installation of high-quality air filters, if at all possible. In addition, the number of air changes in a workplace should be increased, if that reasonably can be accomplished.

Prime examples of administrative controls are consistently encouraging sick workers to stay home. Another example of administrative controls is replacing face to face meetings with virtual ones. Whenever possible telecommuting should be encouraged. Shift change should be considered in order to reduce the number of employees in a workplace at one time.