(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)?
3. What are you doing to prevent your workers from being exposed to COVID-19?
4. Have you developed controls that will eliminate or minimize the risk of exposure?
• 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?
• Can you stagger shifts, to reduce the numbers present at one time?
• Are you ensuring there is adequate cleaning between shifts?
• Provide soap and water or hand sanitizers and encourage workers to wash their hands frequently.
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
9. How are you communicating these messages to your managers, supervisors, and workers?
We have been discussing the COVID-19 infection with our staff since January 2020 (during our meetings) and have continued discussing about it until present. We have been informing them of the nature of the viral infection, its transmission, and prevention. Reading materials have been printed, posted and disseminated. News updates and information are also posted in our Bitrix24 communication system as they come.
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 trainings and meetings conducted to talk about COVID-19 prevention. We posted informative signages on entrance doors and proper handwashing procedure on all sinks. We provided each house with gloves and cleaning supplies, including 70% isopropyl alcohol or hand sanitizers. Masks are currently very limited; hence we have only provided masks to a certain number of houses. We are in the process of purchasing more.
• 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?
Yes, we have. We have identified that it is difficult to practice social distancing in Ontario office due to the number of people going in and out. Another identified condition that may increase the risk of exposure is the freedom of some of our clients to go to crowded places (I.e. malls, community centres, and groceries). As mentioned, we have already placed restrictions to address this condition.
• 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?
Potential exposure might occur in our main office due to the high number of people going in and out. Another possible source of exposure is out in the community activities or visitations from other people. As mentioned, the management have already decided to cancel all visitations and outdoor activities of clients. A limited number of staff can still work at the office in assigned days since only a few departments can be present per day. Other office staff will work from home.
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.
The upper management made a schedule of departments that can work in the office at a given day. Zoom video call is being use for job interviews, trainings, and meetings. Visitation to residential homes are also cancelled to lessen the exposure of clients and staff. Only the staff on shift is working in the homes, endorsement being done within 15 minutes before or after the shift. Only a maximum of 5 person in the workplace while practicing social distancing.
• Do all your workers need to come to work? Can some work from home? (Learn about Health and safety responsibilities when working from home.)
Our frontline staff (support workers and key workers) need to be on their respective residential sites. However, for office workers, an assigned department per day will be working at the office and some will be working at home.
Currently, we can only reduce the number of office staff present at one time. The number of support workers in the home remains at the maximum.
Sanitization in between shifts are being done at least a minimum of twice a day with the use of cleaning/ disinfectant products (e.q. Lysol). This is being monitored as the management are calling staff twice a day to check and to reiterate the importance of cleaning.
• 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.
The continuity of care to the person served is the utmost priority. The core work has been reminded to the employees every phone call to assist them and work safely and productively.
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.
7. How are you checking and tracking whether the above steps are being taken?
Human resource department has the list of staff coming back from their vacation. Daily temperature check is also being done by staff members before their shift starts. Clients’ temperature is also checked, and both are recorded on the daily log.
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.
9 How are you communicating these messages to your managers, supervisors, and workers?
Messages are communicated thru our Bitrix24 communication system. It is also reiterated during the video calls case managers make twice daily.
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.
For more information about preventing workplace exposure to COVID-19 visit worksafebc.com and the BC Centre of Disease Control.
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