Federal Health and Safety Orders — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidance

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CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Return to Work Guidelines

In a recent move, the CDC has issued interim guidance for implementing safety practices for critical infrastructure workers who may have had exposure to a person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. In previous guidance, the CDC generally recommended that exposed employees self-quarantine for a period of time to ensure he or she does not exhibit symptoms and expose others.

In order to ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, the CDC advises that critical infrastructure workers be permitted to continue working following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided as long as they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them in the community.

Critical Infrastructure Workers

The CDC lists the following as “critical infrastructure sector” workers to include:

• Federal, state and local law enforcement
• 911 call center employees
• Hazardous material responders from government and the private sector
• Janitorial and other custodial staff; and
• Workers - including contracted vendors - in food and agriculture, critical manufacturing, information technology, transportation, energy and government facilities.

The list isn’t exhaustive and leaves much to interpretation.

Practice Tip: If your workforce is an essential business as defined by Governor Newson’s Executive Order N-33-20 as part of the Critical Infrastructure Sector the CDC guidelines likely apply to your workforce.

Potential Exposure

The CDC defines potential exposure as a household contact or having close contact within six feet of an individual with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. A potential exposure is defined as contact with a potentially exposed individual in the period that includes 48 hours before the individual becomes symptomatic.

Screening and Monitoring of Exposed Critical Infrastructure Workers

Critical infrastructure workers who have had an exposure but remain asymptomatic should adhere to the following practices prior to and during their work shift:

• Pre-Screen: Employers should measure the employee’s temperature and assess symptoms prior to them starting work. Ideally, temperature check should happen before the individual enters the facility.
• Regular Monitoring: As long as the employee does not have a temperature or symptoms, they should self-monitor under the supervision of their employer’s occupational health program.
• Wear a Mask: The employee should wear a face mask at all times while in the workplace for 14 days after last exposure. Employers can issue face masks or can approve employee supplied cloth face coverings in the event of shortages.
• Social Distance: The employee should maintain six feet and practice social distancing as work duties permit in the workplace.
• Disinfect and Clean Workspaces: Clean and disinfect all areas such as offices, bathrooms, common areas, shared electronic equipment routinely.

If the employee becomes sick during the day, they should be sent home immediately. Their workspace should be cleaned and disinfected and information on persons who had contact with the ill employee during the time the employee had symptoms and two days prior to symptoms should be compiled.

We will monitor the guidance from the CDC and update this guide if and when state, county, or city orders are issued.

Practice Tip: Given much is still unknown about how COVID-19 is transmitted and when infected individuals are most likely to infect others, if possible employers should consider sending employees suspected of having been exposed to COVID-19 home to self quarantine in order to minimize the risk to others in the workplace.

Face Mask Guidelines -- CDC, State and Local Guidelines

The CDC recommends the use of non-medical masks or “cloth face coverings” to help stem the spread of COVID-19. According to the CDC’s recommendation, cloth face coverings are recommended in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (for example, grocery stores and pharmacies). The CDC has made clear that the cloth face coverings guideline for non-medical settings are non-surgical masks or N95 respirators.

In addition to the CDC’s recommendation, on April 1, the California Department of Health offered guidance regarding face coverings. The Department was careful to specify that should individual cities and counties choose to implement policies promoting the use of face coverings, they need to be careful not to increase the demand for medical grade respirators, such as N95 and surgical masks.

In response to the Department’s guidance, the County of San Diego was the first issue an addendum to its health and safety order. As or April 4, all employees who may have contact with the public in any grocery store, pharmacy/drug store, convenience store, restaurant and other business establishments that serve food shall wear a cloth face covering.

Riverside County then followed with a broader order requiring all persons, including essential workers, wear face coverings. Riverside’s order specifies that face coverings include scarves made of dense fabric, bandanas, neck gaiter, or other fabric face coverings. In compliance with the Department of Public Health guidance, the order specifically discourages individuals, including essential workers, from using personal protective equipment, including N95 masks for non-medical reasons.

The City of Los Angeles also issued an executive order that mandates essential workers wear face coverings and requires employers to provide face coverings to their employees. Employers are required to allow their essential workers to wash their hands every 30 minutes. The Los Angeles order also requires individuals going into essential businesses such as grocery stores to wear face coverings for worker safety.

It is anticipated that other counties will also recommend the use of face coverings and these recommendations could become mandates, however, as the incidents of coronavirus increase.

As a proactive measure, employers deemed essential should continue to review orders regarding face coverings to ensure their employees are complying with county mandates and considering CDC guidelines while in their scope of work.

For further CDC COVID-19 information see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

SEE ALSO

• Other sections in this book

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