With the threat of COVID-19 increasing by the day, it’s vital that business owners, facility managers, and HR departments take proper steps in the workplace to keep your employees safe and healthy. So far, there’s still a lot that’s unknown about the COVID-19 virus, but there is a lot that we do know, based on previous experience with similar coronaviruses.

In this blog, we’re taking a quick look at 5 tips for keeping your workplace safe from the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Take Steps to Protect Yourself and Your Employees

Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home

The first tip is pretty straightforward: any employee showing signs of illness SHOULD NOT come into work. Actively encourage your employees to stay home if they have any symptoms of acute respiratory illness. They should not come in until they have absolutely no fever or other signs of illness for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing or symptom-altering medication.

Perform Routine Cleanings of Your Building

Now let’s talk about routine cleaning throughout your building. Everything in your workplace should always be kept clean and sanitary, but the need for thoroughness peaks when trying to prevent the spread of germs. Surfaces that should be regularly cleaned include:

• Workstations and desks
• Floors and walls
• Countertops
• Doorknobs
• Bathrooms
• Eating areas

At Commercial Cleaning Corporation, we use state-of-the-art electrostatic disinfectant equipment along with traditional cleaning methods to provide a comprehensive and effective cleaning solution for any type of facility. Electrostatic disinfecting is a fast and cost-effective supplement to standard cleaning regimens as a way of applying sanitizers and disinfectants to surfaces in a thorough, even manner, regardless of the shape or angle of the surface in question.

Advise Employees to Take Steps Before Traveling

If your employees travel outside of the US, check the CDC Traveler’s Health page for news, updates, guidance, and recommendations for each country that your team will visit. Also, if any employees are showing any signs of acute respiratory illness, they should notify their supervisor. If there is any indication at all that an employee is sick, they should not travel!

Don’t Overuse Facemasks

The CDC DOES NOT recommend that healthy people wear facemasks to protect themselves from respiratory diseases. Facemasks should be worn by those who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of disease to others. They should also be worn by health workers and caretakers who treat patients in close settings.

Emphasize Respiratory Etiquette and Hand Hygiene

Make your stance on sick employees staying home clear, and provide your employees with helpful CDC-issued guidelines for proper respiratory illness etiquette and hand hygiene. Provide easy access to tissues and hands-free waste containers for all employees. People should keep their hands clean with alcohol-based hand sanitizers or by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. For visibly dirty hands, soap and water are most effective.

COVID-19 Safety Doesn’t Stop There

You’ve fully informed your employees of your processes and procedures for workplace health amid the COVID-19 outbreak. They understand their role in maintaining a healthy workplace and are doing their part to the best of their abilities. What’s next? With so many people under one roof, it can be virtually impossible to maintain a clean and sanitary workplace without help. Let Commercial Cleaning Corporation keep your office, industrial facility, healthcare center, or other commercial property clean and germ-free with full-service commercial cleaning solutions. Contact us to get started today.

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