8 minute read
SAFETY Proper Hygiene
Educate employees about steps they can take to protect themselves at work and at home. Encourage employees to follow any new policies or procedures related to illness, cleaning and disinfecting, and work meetings and travel.
Checklist: Training to Employees
Check that employees were taught to:
Stay home if they are sick, except to get medical care, and what to do if they are sick.
Inform their supervisor if they have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 and what to do if someone in their home is sick.
Wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. Inform employees that if their hands are visibly dirty, they should use soap and water over hand sanitizer.
Key times for employees to clean their hands include:
Before and after work shifts Before and after work breaks After blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing After using the restroom Before eating or preparing food After putting on, touching, or removing cloth face coverings Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
Cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze or use the inside of their elbow. Throw used tissues into no-touch trash cans and immediately wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol. Learn more about coughing and sneezing etiquette on the CDC website.
Practice routine cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched objects and surfaces such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails, and doorknobs. Dirty surfaces can be cleaned with soap and water prior to disinfection. To disinfect, use products that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARSCoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, and are appropriate for the surface.
Avoid using other employees’ phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment when possible. Clean and disinfect them before and after use.
Practice social distancing by avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (at least 6 feet) from others when possible.
Items to Provide
Give employees, customers, and visitors what they need to clean their hands and cover their coughs and sneezes.
Provide tissues and no-touch trash cans.
Provide soap and water in the workplace. If soap and water are not readily available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol. Ensure that adequate supplies are maintained.
Ideally, place touchless hand sanitizer stations in multiple locations to encourage hand hygiene.
Discourage handshaking. Encourage employees to use other noncontact methods of greeting.
Direct employees to visit CDC’s coughing and sneezing etiquette and clean hands webpage for more information.
Place posters that encourage hand hygiene to help stop the spread at the entrance to your workplace and in other workplace areas where they are likely to be seen. This should include signs for non-English speakers, as needed. See link below for posters.
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ communication/print-resources. html?Sort=Date%3A%3Ades
Safety: Proper Hygiene continued...
How to Safely Wear and Take Off a Cloth Face Covering
Accessible: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html
WEAR YOUR FACE COVERING CORRECTLY
• Wash your hands before putting on your face covering • Put it over your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin • Try to fit it snugly against the sides of your face • Make sure you can breathe easily • Do not place a mask on a child younger than 2
C L O T H B A R R I E R USE THE FACE COVERING TO HELP PROTECT OTHERS
• Wear a face covering to help protect others in case you’re infected but don’t have symptoms • Keep the covering on your face the entire time you’re in public • Don’t put the covering around your neck or up on your forehead • Don’t touch the face covering, and, if you do, clean your hands
FOLLOW EVERYDAY HEALTH HABITS
• Stay at least 6 feet away from others • Avoid contact with people who are sick • Wash your hands often, with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds each time • Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available
PHARMACY
CS 316488A 05/27/2020
TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTH FACE COVERING CAREFULLY, WHEN YOU’RE HOME
• Untie the strings behind your head or stretch the ear loops • Handle only by the ear loops or ties • Fold outside corners together • Place covering in the washing machine • Wash your hands with soap and water
Cloth face coverings are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators, both of which should be saved for health care workers and other medical first responders.
For instructions on making a cloth face covering, see:
6 ft
CS 317176-B 05/27/2020 Maintain a distance of 6 feet whenever possible.
cdc.gov/coronavirus
Perform Routine Cleaning
Follow the Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting to develop, implement, and maintain a plan to perform regular cleanings to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ reopen-guidance.htm
Routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, keyboards, telephones, handrails, and doorknobs.
If surfaces are dirty, clean them using a detergent or soap and water before you disinfect them.
For disinfection, most common, EPA-registered, household disinfectants should be effective. A list of products that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19 is available on the EPA website. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application method, and contact time).
Discourage workers from using each other’s phones, desks, offices, or other work tools and equipment, when possible.
Provide disposable disinfecting wipes so that employees can wipe down commonly used surfaces (e.g., doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls, desks, and other work tools and equipment) before each use.
Store and use disinfectants in a responsible and appropriate manner according to the label.
Many products recommend:
Keeping surface wet for a period of time (see product label).
Precautions such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation during use of the product.
Tip: Diluted household bleach solutions may also be used if appropriate for the surface. Check the label to see if your bleach is intended for disinfection, and ensure the product is not past its expiration date. Some bleaches, such as those designed for safe use on colored clothing or for whitening, may not be suitable for disinfection.
Unexpired household bleach will be effective against coronaviruses when properly diluted.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions for application and proper ventilation. Never mix household bleach with ammonia or any other cleaners. Leave solution on the surface for at least 1 minute.
For soft surfaces such as carpeted floor, rugs, and drapes:
Clean the surface using soap and water or with cleaners appropriate for use on these surfaces.
Safety: Proper Hygiene continued...
Launder items (if possible) according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely.
OR
Disinfect with an EPA-registered household disinfectant. These disinfectants meet EPA’s criteria for use against COVID-19.
Vacuum as usual.
For electronics such as tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATMs:
Consider putting a wipeable cover on electronics.
Follow manufacturer’s instruction for cleaning and disinfecting.
If no guidance, use alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70% alcohol. Dry surface thoroughly.
For clothing, towels, linens, and other items:
Launder items according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely.
Wear disposable gloves when handling dirty laundry from a person who is sick.
Dirty laundry from a person who is sick can be washed with other people’s items.
Do not shake dirty laundry.
Clean and disinfect clothes hampers according to guidance above for surfaces.
Remove gloves and wash hands right away.
Cleaning and disinfecting your building or facility if someone is sick
Close off areas used by the person who is sick.
Companies do not necessarily need to close operations if they can close off affected areas.
Open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in the area.
Wait 24 hours before you clean or disinfect. If 24 hours is not feasible, wait as long as possible.
Clean and disinfect all areas used by the person who is sick, such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared electronic equipment like tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATMs.
Vacuum the space if needed. Use vacuum equipped with high-efficiency particular air (HEPA) filter, if available.
Do not vacuum a room or space that has people in it. Wait until the room or space is empty to vacuum, such as at night, for common spaces, or during the day for private rooms.
Consider temporarily turning off room fans and the central HVAC system that services the room or space, so that particles that escape from vacuuming will not circulate throughout the facility.
Once area has been appropriately disinfected, it can be opened for use.
Workers without close contact with the person who is sick can return to work immediately after disinfection.
If more than 7 days since the person who is sick visited or used the facility, additional cleaning and disinfection is not necessary.
Safety: Proper Hygiene continued...
Continue routing cleaning and disinfection. This includes everyday practices that businesses and communities normally use to maintain a healthy environment.
Cleaning and disinfecting outdoor areas
Outdoor areas, like playgrounds in schools and parks generally require normal routine cleaning but do not require disinfection.
Do not spray disinfectant on outdoor playgrounds—it is not an efficient use of supplies and is not proven to reduce risk of COVID-19 to the public.
High-touch surfaces made of plastic or metal, such as grab bars and railings, should be cleaned routinely.
Cleaning and disinfection of wooden surfaces (play structures, benches, tables) or groundcovers (mulch, sand) is not recommended.
Sidewalks and roads should not be disinfected.
Spread of COVID-19 from these surfaces is very low and disinfection is not effective.
Regular cleaning staff can clean and disinfect community spaces.
Ensure they are trained on appropriate use of cleaning and disinfection chemicals.
Wear disposable gloves and gowns for all tasks in the cleaning process, including handling trash.
Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) might be required based on the cleaning/ disinfectant products being used and whether there is a risk of splash.
Gloves and gowns should be removed carefully to avoid contamination of the wearer and the surrounding area.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.
Always wash immediately after removing gloves and after contact with a person who is sick.
Hand sanitizer: If soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol may be used. However, if hands are visibly dirty, always wash hands with soap and water.
