Coronavirus Updates and Workplace Strategies

As the concern about the Coronavirus continues, The CDC continues to emphasize the importance of hand hygiene and routine disinfection of surfaces as the current best practices. 

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.  If soap and water is not available, use hand sanitizer.

Standard Precaution Recommendations from World Health Organization (WHO) include:
“Ensure that environmental cleaning and disinfection procedures are followed consistently and correctly. Thorough cleaning of environmental surfaces with water and detergent and applying commonly used hospital level disinfectants is
an effective and sufficient procedure."

Contact Croaker, Inc for suggestions on hand hygiene and disinfection products.

Viruses, fungi, and bacteria, including MRSA, VRE and CRE, can be eliminated with germicides containing quaternary ammonium compounds (“Quat”) or organic acids. 

Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with an EPA registered disinfectant.

The  National Chemical Laboratories Disinfectants listed below have all demonstrated effectiveness against Human Coronavirus and SARS:

Bulk Disinfectants

1. 0248 Neutral-Q Disinfectant Cleaner
2. 0255 MicroChem Plus Detergent / Disinfectant
3. 0275 Neutracide 256 Neutral Disinfectant Cleaner / Deodorizer
4. 0234 Citrus Flower-Quat Disinfectant, Cleaner, Mildewstat, Fungicide, Virucide, Deodorizer
5. 0237 Pine-Quat Disinfectant, Cleaner, Mildewstat, Fungicide, Virucide, Deodorizer
6. 0235 Lemon-Quat Disinfectant, Cleaner, Mildewstat, Fungicide, Virucide, Deodorizer
7. 0230 Lavender-Quat Disinfectant, Cleaner, Mildewstat, Fungicide, Virucide, Deodorizer
8. 0236 Mint-Quat Disinfectant, Cleaner, Mildewstat, Fungicide, Virucide, Deodorizer
9. 0270 Combat Odor Eliminator / Neutral Disinfectant Cleaner

Here's Croaker's Disinfectant page:

https://croakeronline.com/collections/disinfectants

Recommended strategies for employers to use now:

• Actively encourage sick employees to stay home
• Separate sick employees
• Emphasize staying home when sick, respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene by all employees
• Perform routine environmental cleaning
• Advise employees before traveling to take certain steps as outlined by the CDC.

• Additional Measures in Response to Currently Occurring Sporadic Importations of the COVID-19:
• Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor.
• If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, employers should inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Planning for a Possible COVID-19 Outbreak in the US

The severity of illness or how many people will fall ill from COVID-19 is unknown at this time. If there is evidence of a COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., employers should plan to be able to respond in a flexible way to varying levels of severity and be prepared to refine their business response plans as needed. For the general American public, such as workers in non-healthcare settings and where it is unlikely that work tasks create an increased risk of exposures to COVID-19, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low. The CDC and its partners will continue to monitor national and international data on the severity of illness caused by COVID-19, will disseminate the results of these ongoing surveillance assessments, and will make additional recommendations as needed.