Frequently Asked Questions

(PHO) and guidance to employers and businesses provided by the BC Centre of Disease Control represent the minimum standard that employers must meet, to comply with obligations to ensure worker health and safety. To address health and safety concerns in the workplace raised by COVID-19, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How are you telling your workers about COVID-19 (i.e. exposure to COVID-19 in your workplace)?

2. Do you have a system in place where workers (including joint health and safety committee representatives and worker representatives) can inform you of concerns relating to being exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace? Find out if there are any specific tasks that concern them (e.g. tasks that involve interacting with others).

3. What are you doing to prevent your workers from being exposed to COVID-19?

• Have you done a walk-through of your workplace, to identify specific conditions or tasks that may increase the risk of exposure of your workers to COVID-19?

• Have you asked your workers (including your joint committee or worker representative) where potential exposures may occur and how they think exposures can be controlled?

4. Have you developed controls that will eliminate or minimize the risk of exposure?

• What are those controls?

• Have you put them in place?

• How are they working (are they effective)?

• How do you know how they are working?

5. How are you controlling the number of workers and other people at your workplace?

• Do all your workers need to come to work? Can some work from home? (Learn about Health and safety responsibilities when working from home)

• Can you stagger shifts, to reduce the numbers present at one time?

• Are you ensuring there is adequate cleaning between shifts?

• Can you prioritize the work that needs to be done at the workplace to help your business operate as close to normal under the circumstances? This will require a determination of core work and where it can safely and productively be performed.

6. If you have workers who need to come to the workplace, how are you ensuring the following steps are being taken to reduce their risk of COVID-19 exposure? Different workplaces will have different needs, but the following steps are a good start:

• Provide soap and water or hand sanitizers and encourage workers to wash their hands frequently.

• Enhance cleaning and disinfecting of the workplace, particularly high-contact items such as door handles, faucet handles, keyboards, and shared equipment (e.g., photocopiers).

7. How are you checking and tracking whether the above steps are being taken?

Prohibition of workers who are sick and those returning from outside Canada

8. What are you and your supervisors and managers doing to prohibit the following workers from coming to work?

• Workers who are displaying symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, sneezing), whether or not the illness has been confirmed as COVID-19.

• Workers who have travelled internationally. It is mandatory for all travellers returning to Canada to self-isolate for 14-days.

• Workers who live in the same household as a confirmed or clinical COVID-19 case who is self-isolating, or who have been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 infected person and advised by 811 (public health) to self-isolate.

9. How are you communicating these messages to your managers, supervisors, and workers?

10. What are you doing to track and communicate with workers who fall into one of the above categories?

2. Do you have a system in place where workers (including joint health and safety committee representatives and worker representatives) can inform you of concerns relating to being exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace? Find out if there are any specific tasks that concern them (e.g. tasks that involve interacting with others).

Our workplace exposure has been minimized as much as possible. We have already cancelled almost all outdoor activities for all our clients (i.e. access to community centres, malls, non-essential outing and visitations). In case of possible exposure, the staff should inform their key workers, case managers, and the Human Resource Manager. It is mandatory that the staff to inform us of any COVID-19-related symptoms as soon as it manifests.

The staff that are tasked to do essential services (i.e. purchasing crucial and grocery items) are of concern, since they have a greater chance of getting exposed to COVID-19. We have provided them with masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers or 70% isopropyl alcohol. We have also reminded them to strictly observe physical distancing with others. Frequent handwashing, avoiding touching the face, and coughing etiquette were also imposed.

We have placed administrative measures to minimize the risk of the staff and clients to COVID-19

We have limited the number of staff in our office per day. Workplace of residential staff have been limited to only one site. Outdoor activities and visitations have also been cancelled. Zoom video call has replaced our traditional way of meeting. Lastly, a handful of people have been task to purchase groceries and essential supplies of all our clients.

Yes, it has been put in place.

It is working effectively.

LMSCL management together with respective management were doing check-in both morning and evening with the employees working in the homes to assess effectiveness of the controls in placed. The employees are all following the said controls.

6. If you have workers who need to come to the workplace, how are you ensuring the following steps are being taken to reduce their risk of COVID-19 exposure? Different workplaces will have different needs, but the following steps are a good start:

Position workers to allow for physical distancing. Keep 2 metres distance between workers and customers, clients, and other workers.

Staff working as our front liners (support workers and key workers) will provide care to our clients. Thus, physical distancing will not be observed in these instances.

• Provide soap and water or hand sanitizers and encourage workers to wash their hands frequently.

We have provided sand sanitizers or 70% alcohol upon entry of the staff. Hand washing signages are also posted on all the sinks. Hand soap is also provided to all the residential programs.

• Enhance cleaning and disinfecting of the workplace, particularly high-contact items such as door handles, faucet handles, keyboards, and shared equipment (e.g., photocopiers).

The staff at the residential sites disinfects the doorknobs and surfaces at least minimum of twice a day. Office staff also are assigned to do housekeeping and sanitizing upon arrival and before the end of the day.

8. What are you and your supervisors and managers doing to prohibit the following workers from coming to work?

• Workers who are displaying symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, sneezing), whether or not the illness has been confirmed as COVID-19.

We posted instructional signages for sick staff member displaying symptoms above to tell them to just stay home. Thus, staff knows that if they are not feeling they will have to call their key worker or case manager. They will be instructed on what to do afterwards.

• Workers who have travelled internationally. It is mandatory for all travellers returning to Canada to self-isolate for 14-days.

Workers who travelled internationally and return to Canada wasn’t advised to come to work. A mandatory 14-days isolation period is being observed. See the more reference issued by LMSCL as an addition on this statement.

• Workers who live in the same household as a confirmed or clinical COVID-19 case who is self-isolating, or who have been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 infected person and advised by 811 (public health) to self-isolate.

LMSCL also follows the recommendations by public health and advised workers to remain in their home if the same experienced and follow the provincial health guidelines.

10 What are you doing to track and communicate with workers who fall into one of the above categories?

The managers provide twice daily updates regarding the calls they make on the staff. These updates are recorded and posted on the Bitrix24 system.