It was in the month of January 2020 that the World Health Organization announced the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in China’s Huwaei Province and since then it has been deemed a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The WHO also mentioned that there were high chances of the virus spreading to other nations of the world which is what happened.
With the COVID-19 outbreak now rampant across the world, many countries went through nationwide lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus. However, now that the economy of the world is crashing, many nations have decided to open up business sectors to boost their economies.
With the opening of offices, maintaining safe COVID-19 protocols has become extremely vital to ensuring the safety of employees and employers. Here are few ways to help prevent the transmission of the disease.
Avoid the virus from spreading in your workplace – Tried and tested methods
Here are few low-cost measures that you can take in order to keep the infection from transmitting in your workplace. Even if COVID-19 has still not arrived in your community, you should still follow these protocols to assure the safety of your employees.
- Make sure your office is cleaned regularly and desks are well spaced
- Different surfaces like tables, desks and objects like keyboards, monitors and telephones should be wiped regularly with disinfectant sprays
- Install a COVID-19 sanitising station at the entrance of your workplace so that all employees are sanitized before they enter the office premises
One of the main ways in which COVID-19 spreads is through contamination on the surfaces that have been touched by infected employees or customers.
Promote thorough and regular hand sanitising by contractors, employees and customers. Here are some steps to take:
- Keep hand sanitiser bulk in dispensers at prominent places spread throughout the office. The dispensers should be refilled at regular intervals.
- Display posters that promote good hygiene practices and social distancing.
- Ensure that your contractors, staff and customers have easy access to places where they can wash hands with water and soap.
Promote proper respiratory hygiene inside the office premises:
- Exhibit posters that advocate the importance of respiratory hygiene. Also offer guidance from health and safety officers, for example by giving briefings at meetings.
- Keep ample face masks and paper tissues available at your office. Keep closed bins for disposing of these items properly.
Maintaining proper respiratory hygiene may help prevent the virus from spreading in a confined space. Briefing your employees, customers and contractors that if they are showing possible signs of Covid even if they are mild symptoms like a low grade fever or mild cough, they need to stay at home and self isolate.