Infection Guidelines

If an employee arrives at work ill or presents signs of COVID-19 symptoms during work hours, have your established HR manager or Health & Wellness officer fill out a Sample COVID-19 Self-Screening Form. If an employee is deemed potential COVID-19 positive after following the Sample COVID-19 Self-Screening Form, follow the Isolation Guidelines below.

Considerations for Infection:

• Employees who develop symptoms outside of work should notify their supervisor and stay home.
• Ideally, temperature checks should happen before the individual enters the facility, prior to them starting work.
• Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) does not recommend that employees attend work if their measured body temperature is higher than 99.5⁰F (taken under the arm) or 100⁰F (taken orally or by temporal thermometer).
• 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.

Considerations for Self-Monitoring and Returning to Work:

• Sick employees who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 should stay home until cleared by a healthcare provider following current CDC guidance.  Sick employees who symptoms consistent with COVID should be evaluated by a healthcare provider and tested if needed before returning to work following CDC guidance.
• Sick employees who have a negative test for SARS-CoV-2 should stay home until they are free of fever (without the use of medication) for at least 24 hours.
• During the self-quarantine period, these employees should:
  • Practice social distancing from other members of the household.
  • Perform self-monitoring for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 as instructed by local or state public health authorities.
  • Postpone long-distance travel on commercial conveyances.
• Employees should not return to work until they have met the criteria to discontinue home isolation and have consulted with a healthcare provider and state or local health department.

Isolation Guidelines

1. Once the suspected infected employee arrives in the Isolation Room, immediately provide them with a mask and nitrile gloves. Explain to them that it is to help protect other employees and prevent the spread of a potential virus.
2. The Isolation Coordinator must complete a Sample COVID-19 Self-Screening Form.
3. Call the local health authority or medical office to notify or seek advice regarding transportation and location. Emergency medical services should also be notified if emergency transport is indicated.
4. The Isolation Coordinator, and any others attending the suspected infected person, should also wear a protective mask and nitrile (surgical) gloves while working with the suspected infected person.
5. The Isolation Coordinator should direct the ill employee to leave work and go home or to the nearest health center as advised by the local health authority. Refer to resource for access to the right point of care.
6. Public transportation should not be used for potentially infected individual.
   • If the infected person is well enough to drive their own vehicle, ask them to use it.
   • If a close household contact of the patient can transport them, this is preferred over a work colleague providing transportation.
   • If another individual is to transport the person in a vehicle, ensure that the infected person always keeps the mask on their face and wears a pair of nitrile gloves.
   • The driver must wear a mask and gloves whilst making the journey and keep them on for the return journey for proper disposal.
   • Once the vehicle has returned to the site, ensure that it is cleaned, and all surfaces, seats, dashboards, door handles seatbelts, etc., have been washed down with a disinfectant solution. All persons cleaning the vehicle must wear a mask and gloves whilst doing so.
7. The Isolation Coordinator, in coordination with Human Resources (HR) and Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), must:
   • Identify persons who may have been in contact with the suspected infected employee. Unless required by the local health authority, the name of the infected employee should not be provided.
   • Advise employees that they may have been in contact with a suspected infected employee, to carry out a self-screening check every morning and, based on the results, contact the HR department.
   • Advise employees to contact a physician to obtain medical clearance to return to work.
8. Ensure that both the isolation area and suspected employee’s work station or office is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, in addition to all other common surfaces recently touched by the infected employee. All persons carrying out this cleaning must wear disposable nitrile (surgical type) gloves, and all support persons’ PPE should be appropriately discarded prior to resuming normal work functions.

Recommended Location for Isolated Employee

• Where possible, the isolation room should be an exterior room (building or tent structure). If not, then an enclosed area away from the general population can be used. 

Recommend PPE for Isolation Protocol

• Although isolation workers are not expected to touch the virus, nitrile gloves are recommended if a non-touchless scenario occurs.