In case of large outbreak, shut office for 48 hours say new guidelines
New Delhi, June 05: The Ministry of Health has issued new guidelines for offices.
There is a need to prevent spread of infection and to respond in a timely and effective manner in case suspect case of COVID-19 is detected in these settings, so as to limit the spread of infection, the ministry has said.
General measures:
Persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women are advised to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes. Office management to facilitate the process.
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The generic preventive measures include simple public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of infection with COVID-19. These measures need to be observed by all (employees and visitors) at all times. These include:
i. Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places as far as feasible.
ii. Use of face covers/masks to be mandatory.
iii.
Practice
frequent
hand
washing
with
soap
(for
at
least
40-60
seconds)
even
when
hands
are
not
visibly
dirty.
Use
of
alcohol-based
hand
sanitizers
(for
at
least
20
seconds)
can
be
made
wherever
feasible.
iv. Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. This involves strict practice of covering one's mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used tissues properly.
v.
Self-monitoring
of
health
by
all
and
reporting
any
illness
at
the
earliest
to
the
immediate
supervisory
officer.
vi. Spitting shall be strictly prohibited.
vii. Installation & use of Aarogya Setu App by employees.
Preventive measures:
i. Entrance to have mandatory hand hygiene (sanitiser dispenser) and thermal screening provisions.
ii. Only asymptomatic staff/visitors shall be allowed.
iii.
Any
officer
and
staff
residing
in
containment
zone
should
inform
the
same
to
supervisory
officer
and
not
attend
the
office
till
containment
zone
is
denotified.
Such
staff
should
be
permitted
to
work
from
home
and
it
will
not
be
counted
as
leave
period.
iv. Drivers shall maintain social distancing and shall follow required dos and don'ts related to COVID-19. It shall be ensured by the service providers/ officers/ staff that drivers residing in containment zones shall not be allowed to drive vehicles.
v. There shall be provision for disinfection of the interior of the vehicle using 1% sodium hypochlorite solution/ spray. A proper disinfection of steering, door handles, keys, etc. should be taken up.
vi. Advise all employees who are at higher risk i.e. older employees, pregnant employees and employees who have underlying medical conditions, to take extra precautions. They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public. Office management to facilitate work from home wherever feasible.
vii. All officers and staff / visitors to be allowed entry only if using face cover/masks. The face cover/mask has to be worn at all times inside the office premises.
viii. Routine issue of visitors/temporary passes should be suspended and visitors with proper permission of the officer who they want to meet, should be allowed after being properly screened.
ix. Meetings, as far as feasible, should be done through video conferencing.
x.
Posters/standees/AV
media
on
preventive
measures
about
COVID-19
to
be
displayed
prominently.
xi. Staggering of office hours, lunch hours/coffee breaks to be done, as far as feasible.
xii.
Proper
crowd
management
in
the
parking
lots
and
outside
the
premises
-
duly
following
social
distancing
norms
be
ensured.
xiii.
Valet
parking,
if
available,
shall
be
operational
with
operating
staff
wearing
face
covers/
masks
and
gloves
as
appropriate.
A
proper
disinfection
of
steering,
door
handles,
keys,
etc.
of
vehicles
should
be
taken
up.
xiv.
Any
shops,
stalls,
cafeteria
etc.,
outside
and
within
the
office
premises
shall
follow
social
distancing
norms
at
all
times.
xv.
Specific
markings
may
be
made
with
sufficient
distance
to
manage
the
queue
and
ensure
social
distancing
in
the
premises.
xvi. Preferably separate entry and exit for officers, staff and visitors shall be organised.
xvii. Proper cleaning and frequent sanitization of the workplace, particularly of the frequently touched surfaces must be ensured.
xviii. Ensure regular supply of hand sanitisers, soap and running water in the washrooms.
xix.
Required
precautions
while
handling
supplies,
inventories
and
goods
in
the
office
shall
be
ensured.
xx.
Seating
arrangement
to
be
made
in
such
a
way
that
adequate
social
distancing
is
maintained.
xxi.
Number
of
people
in
the
elevators
shall
be
restricted,
duly
maintaining
social
distancing
norms.
xxii.
For
air-conditioning/ventilation,
the
guidelines
of
CPWD
shall
be
followed
which
inter
alia
emphasises
that
the
temperature
setting
of
all
air
conditioning
devices
should
be
in
the
range
of
24-30oC,
relative
humidity
should
be
in
the
range
of
40-
70
per
cent,
intake
of
fresh
air
should
be
as
much
as
possible
and
cross
ventilation
should
be
adequate.
xxiii. Large gatherings continue to remain prohibited.
xxiv.
Effective
and
frequent
sanitation
within
the
premises
shall
be
maintained
with
particular
focus
on
lavatories,
drinking
and
hand
washing
stations/areas.
xxv. Cleaning and regular disinfection (using 1 per cent sodium hypochlorite) of frequently touched surfaces (door knobs, elevator buttons, hand rails, benches, washroom fixtures, etc.) shall be done in office premises and in common areas
xxvi. Proper disposal of face covers / masks / gloves left over by visitors and/or employees shall be ensured.
xxvii. In the cafeteria/canteen/dining halls:
a.
Adequate
crowd
and
queue
management
to
be
ensured
to
ensure
social
distancing
norms.
b.
Staff
/
waiters
to
wear
mask
and
hand
gloves
and
take
other
required
precautionary
measures.
c.The
seating
arrangement
to
ensure
a
distance
of
at
least
1
meter
between
patrons
as
far
as
feasible.
d.
In
the
kitchen,
the
staff
to
follow
social
distancing
norms.
Measures to be taken on occurrence of case(s):
Despite taking the above measures, the occurrence of cases among the employees working in the office cannot be ruled out. The following measures will be taken in such circumstances:
When one or few person(s) who share a room/close office space is/are found to be suffering from symptoms suggestive of COVID-19:
a. Place the ill person in a room or area where they are isolated from others at the workplace. Provide a mask/face cover till such time he/she is examined by a doctor.
b. Immediately inform the nearest medical facility (hospital/clinic) or call the state or district helpline.
c.A risk assessment will be undertaken by the designated public health authority (district RRT/treating physician) and accordingly further advice shall be made regarding management of case, his/her contacts and need for disinfection.
- The suspect case if reporting very mild/mild symptoms on assessment by the health authorities would be placed under home isolation.
- Suspect case, if assessed by health authorities as moderate to severe, will be treated as per health protocol in appropriate health facility.
f. The rapid response team of the concerned district shall be requisitioned and will undertake the listing of contacts.
g.The necessary actions for contact tracing and disinfection of workplace will start once the report of the patient is received as positive. The report will be expedited for this purpose.
ii.If there are large numbers of contacts from a pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic case, there could be a possibility of a cluster emerging in workplace setting. Due to the close environment in workplace settings this could even be a large cluster (>15 cases). The essential principles of risk assessment, isolation, and quarantine of contacts, case referral and management will remain the same. However, the scale of arrangements will be higher.
Management of contacts:
a. The contacts will be categorised into high and low risk contacts by the District RRTas detailed in the Annexure I.
b.
The
high-risk
exposure
contacts
shall
be
quarantined
for
14
days.
c.These
persons
shall
undergo
testing
as
per
ICMR
protocol.
-
The
low
risk
exposure
contacts
shall
continue
to
work
and
closely
monitor
their health for next 14 days. - The flowchart for management of contact/ cases is placed at Annexure - II.
Closure of workplace
- If there are one or two cases reported, the disinfection procedure will be limited to places/areas visited by the patient in past 48 hrs. There is no need to close the entire office building/halt work in other areas of the office and work can be resumed after disinfection as per laid down protocol.
- However, if there is a larger outbreak, the building/block will have to be closed for 48 hours after thorough disinfection. All the staff will work from home, till the building/block is adequately disinfected and is declared fit for re-occupation.
High-risk contact
- Touched body fluids of the patient (respiratory tract secretions, blood, vomit, saliva, urine, faeces; e.g. being coughed on, touching used paper tissues with a bare hand)
- Had direct physical contact with the body of the patient including physical examination without PPE
- Touched or cleaned the linens, clothes, or dishes of the patient.
- Lives in the same household as the patient.
- Anyone in close proximity (within 1 meter) of the confirmed case without precautions.
- Passengers in close proximity (within 1 meter) in a conveyance with a symptomatic person who later tested positive for COVID-19 for more than 6 hours.
- Low-risk contact
- Shared the same space (worked in same room/similar) but not having a high-risk exposure to confirmed case of COVID-19.
- Travelled in same environment (bus/train/flight/any mode of transit) but not having a high-risk exposure.