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ONTARIO RELEASES SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR BUSINESS SECTORS

The Ontario government is providing employers safety guidelines to protect workers, customers, and the general public from COVID-19 as it gradually reopens the economy.

The safety guidelines offer direction to workers in the manufacturing, food manufacturing and processing, restaurant and food service, and the agricultural sectors. These measures build on more than 60 guidelines developed by Ontario’s health and safety associations in response to COVID-19.

“We all want to reopen our businesses, services and favourite places across the province, but we must do it in a safe and responsible way,” said Premier Doug Ford. “That’s why we are providing clear guidelines to employers, with practical measures to help them keep staff and customers safe while preventing the spread of COVID-19. By taking these steps, we will be prepared to get people back to work when the time is right.”

These new sector-specific guidelines feature recommended actions employers can begin to plan for as they prepare to adapt to the new reality during COVID-19, including:

Ways to ensure appropriate physical

distancing, like eliminating pay-at-the-door options, holding team meetings outdoors,

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staggering shift times and using ground markings and barriers to manage traffic flow.

Changes to the workplace, like installing plexiglass barriers, increasing the air intake on building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to increase air flow, and using boot sanitizing trays.

Promoting proper workplace

sanitation, providing personal protective equipment, substituting dry dusting with vacuuming, ensuring customer-facing staff are given hand sanitizer, providing a place to dispose of sanitizing wipes, and enforcing hand washing before and after breaks.

The government also issued posters to

promote safety tips. The posters offer advice on physical distancing and sanitation so employers can print and post them in their workplaces.

“We are truly in extraordinary times and employers and employees are facing situations they have never had to deal with before,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “It is incumbent on our government, with the advice of health officials, to provide the guidance and tips outlining the safest ways to reopen workplaces and help prevent the spread.”

Starting in May, 58 new inspectors joined the hundreds of existing provincial labour inspectors on the ground. The inspectors, which include workers from the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) and the Ontario College of Trades (OCOT), will be tasked with communicating COVID-19 safety guidelines to essential workplaces or enforcing emergency measures, including physical distancing and the closure of nonessential businesses.

“Protecting the health and well-being of Ontarians during the COVID-19 outbreak has been and will always be our government’s number one priority,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “These guidelines will help employers begin to plan for their safe reopening based on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and in alignment with our framework to ease public health measures and restart our economy. In doing so, we can ensure we continue to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep workers safe.”

“Our province’s businesses have made great efforts to protect the health and safety of their workers throughout the course of this pandemic,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “These new guidelines will help employers continue to protect their staff and customers as we begin to carefully and methodically re-open our economy, so that we can return Ontario to prosperity in the safest way possible.”

The government is committed to a careful, stage-by-stage approach to loosening emergency measures and reopening Ontario’s economy. Public health and workplace safety will remain the top priority, while balancing the needs of people and businesses.

For a link to access the government guidelines and the posters, view the online version of this article at gfl.me/h827.

Start decontaminating your workplace with this free checklist

With more businesses reopening in Ontario every week, now is the time to look at how to decontaminate your workplace and prevent the spread of COVID-19 among employees and customers.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if the workplace has been closed for more than seven days, you don’t need a full-scale decontamination; however, you will still want to implement measures for ongoing decontamination of surfaces,” says Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS) occupational hygienist, Kelly Fernandes.

To guide you through the process, WSPS has developed a downloadable decontamination checklist full of practical, actionable considerations. The checklist also provides pre-contamination guidelines, outlines how to decontaminate areas where a worker is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, and provides links for more detailed information.

Apply a team approach

Fernandes suggests assembling a pandemic recovery team that includes a variety of stakeholders, such as managers, supervisors, building maintenance, housekeeping, joint health and safety committee members, and others who could provide insights on what’s needed in your workplace. Establishing decontamination procedures and schedules should be among the committee’s tasks.

Screen workers using a questionnaire before they come back to work. “If they have symptoms or have been near someone who had COVID-19,” Fernandes advises, “they should self-isolate for 14 days.”

Determine which disinfectant products are best suited to your workplace, then train cleaning staff and workers on their use and application. Include hazards and safety precautions, and procedures for putting on, using, removing and disposing of personal protective equipment (PPE). “Much of this training can take place ahead of time if everyone has access to computers,” Fernandes says.

Ensure workers are thoroughly washing their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer before and after cleaning (e.g., before donning gloves and after doffing gloves).

Create a schedule for decontaminating high-touch surfaces, such as tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, touchscreens, equipment, tools, toilets, faucets, and sinks. “Be sure to consider

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disinfecting between shifts, and between use of shared tools or equipment.”

Use vacuums equipped with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters wherever possible.

Place all waste materials resulting from decontamination in sealed bags, and wipe the sealed bags with disinfectant. “Bags should go right outside into the waste bin. And don’t compact them — potentially contaminated materials could get out into the air.”

Resources from WSPS

The decontamination checklist and Post Pandemic Business Playbook are just two of the new resources available from WSPS. Others include: pandemic preparedness, infection control, COVID-19 business planning and industry association supports, work refusals, mental health, working remotely, and post-pandemic business recovery. They are available online via WSPS. Find links via the online version of this article at gfl.me/h82a.

More resources are available from the WSPS website at wsps.ca or by calling 1-877-494-WSPS (9777).

Remembering those who lost their lives on the job

The National Day of Mourning (April 28), was established in 1984 to commemorate workers and their families affected by workplace accidents, providing an opportunity to reflect on those who were injured or died at work.

On April 28, The Honourable Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, issued the following statement regarding the National Day of Mourning:

“Today, we observe the National Day of Mourning to honour those who have died, been injured or become ill in the course of their work. I’m asking everyone in Ontario to take a few moments to remember those who are no longer with us, and think about those who are still living with the consequences of a workplace tragedy.

This is an extraordinary year, as it brings with it the never-before seen risk of COVID-19. Clearly, this deadly virus puts us all in harm’s way, especially our essential workers who have been on the front lines protecting us, caring for us and serving us since the outbreak began several weeks ago.

I am deeply saddened when I think of all of those who have lost their life due to COVID-19, including our workers and our seniors. Their lives will be celebrated, their contributions will be honoured, and their absence will be mourned.

If a worker ever has any concerns about their safety at work, they can file a complaint with the Ministry’s Health and Safety Contact Centre by calling 1-877-202-0008.”

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