With the amount of time the Coronavirus has endured, business owners might have started asking themselves not if a positive case will occur in their business, but when. On the occasion where someone has become infected, it is important to know where to look and what to do. Fortunately, there is guidance out there to help.
According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), there are four steps a business owner should follow to better the health and safety of those around them, as well as improve the Maine Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) ability to control the outbreak:
Step 1. Conduct your immediate response. The Maine DHHS recommends that business owners “clean and disinfect the workplace, focusing on high-touch surfaces.”
Step 2. Businesses should be ready to work with the Maine CDC to gather important information. If your employee worked during their infectious period, the Maine CDC will ask about the last date your employee worked and who they may have had close contact with.
Step 3. Notify your employees as soon as possible but be careful to maintain confidentiality.
Step 4. Depending on your business, the Maine DHHS recommends supporting your employees that must stay home for quarantine or isolation. This support can take different forms and can include sharing resources or providing options for remote work.
Going forward, business owners should consider their own plans for how to deal with an outbreak within their businesses and be ready to implement that plan going forward.
