As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread across the world, the World Health Organization has issued out some guidelines to employers.
These guidelines are to help prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at workplaces.
The virus is a global public health emergency, according to the World Health Organisation and there are concerns it could soon turn into a global pandemic.
In a memo titled, ‘Getting your business ready in case COVID-19 arrives in your community’ the WHO is hoping all employers could take precaution to protect employees.
The memo said all employers should make sure:
- Workplaces are clean and hygienic, ensure desk surfaces and intercoms wiped with disinfectant regularly.
- Brief employees, contractors, and customers that if COVID-19 starts spreading in your community anyone with even a mild cough or low-grade fever (37.3 C or more) needs to stay at home.
- They should also stay home (or work from home) if they have had to take simple medications, such as paracetamol/acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin, which may mask symptoms of infection.
- Promote regular and thorough hand-washing by employees, contractors, and customers and put sanitizing hand rub dispensers in prominent places around the workplace.
- Make sure that staff, contractors and customers have access to places where they can wash their hands with soap and water because washing kills the virus on your hands and prevents the spread of COVID19.
- Ensure that face masks and/or paper tissues are available at your workplaces, for those who develop a runny nose or cough at work, along with closed bins for hygienically disposing of them as good respiratory hygiene prevents the spread of COVID-19.
- Advise employees and contractors to consult national travel advice before going on business trips.
Good hygiene
The memo also said that employers should cultivate good hygiene because when someone who has COVID-19 coughs or exhales, they release droplets of infected fluid.
It said “Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects – such as desks, tables or telephones. People could catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects – and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
“If they are standing within 1 or 2 meters of a person with COVID-19 they can catch it by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them. In other words, COVID-19 spreads in a similar way to flu,” the memo added.
More than 78,000 cases of the respiratory disease have been recorded including three cases in Africa so far.
Coronavirus is fast spreading across the world with the rate of spread getting faster outside of China, where the virus first broke out.
Victims of coronavirus often suffer from respiratory illness and this new strain of coronavirus was not previously identified in humans.
Source: Africafeeds.com
