Preventing the Spread of Coronavirus

As COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to spread, we all have begun to take more precautions to protect our employees, their families, and our businesses. In addition to the general cleaning and disinfection recommendations and the hygiene guidelines provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), we’ve provided some additional information below that you may find useful in updating your business continuity plans.

• Familiarize yourself with HIPAA and patient privacy laws to ensure you are in compliance when screening employees and visitors at your facilities.
• Contact your suppliers to find out their plans and how they’re screening individuals at their facilities.
• Post updates to your company’s intranet to inform employees about news related to the virus and how they can play a part in prevention.
• If interviewing job candidates, consider meeting them at off-site locations to decrease the amount of visitors entering your facilities.
• Encourage employees to refrain from all physical contact, such as handshakes. Similarly, if interviewing job candidates, share this policy before meeting them to prevent awkwardness.
• If regulatory agencies have scheduled visits, make them aware of any additional coronavirus protocols your company has in place in advance of their meetings.
• Meet with local and state officials to discuss thresholds for closing schools and put plans into place for employees with children.