So your next safety meeting is coming up and you have to discuss covid-19 with your team.

This checklist summarizes the most critical things you need to discuss with your team. Lets get started.

What is COVID-19?

The novel (new) coronavirus, COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person.  This usually happens when an infected person sneezes or coughs or a simple close contact with one another.             

People may also become infected by touching surfaces or objects contaminated with the virus and then touching their mouths nose or eyes.               

Persons with covid-19 have had these common symptoms ranging from mild to severe fever, cough, shortness of breath or having a hard time breathing, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and even loss of smell.

In order to be safe and maintain business operations, here’s a quick checklist you can use.

The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Toolbox Checklist For Safety Meetings

Every employer should develop a COVID-19 prevention preparedness and response plan that outlines the steps the employer and worker should take to reduce the risk of exposure to and transmission of covid-19.

On the job, protecting all construction workers will depend on following basic infection prevention measures such as practicing good personal hygiene and following job site safety practices to prevent the spread of a virus including staying home. 

• If you have a fever or are sick do not work. Any employee on the job showing symptoms of covid-19 should be asked to leave immediately and return home to recover.

• Limiting job access to only essential workers     

• Practicing respiratory etiquette by covering coughs and sneezes         

• Clean your hands often and wash hands frequently. It’s best to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol

• Reduce or eliminate all in person meetings and conduct meeting by telephone when possible        

• Avoiding close contact by social distancing to increase personal space to at least six feet  between yourself  and other people     

• If social distancing is not possible based on the type of job, consider covering your nose and mouth with a cloth face cover when others are around

• Encourage employees to minimize ride-sharing and while in vehicles make sure that its properly ventilated   

• Avoid sharing tools or equipment with coworkers of possible

• Regularly cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, rails,  toilets, cell phones, tools equipment controls with EPA registered household disinfectant or properly diluted bleach solution. At all times make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using sanitizing products         

• Using proper personal protective equipment or PPE when cleaning and disinfecting also in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions such as gloves and eye or face protection. Remember to never mix chemicals and use them as directed by the manufacturer.       

• Reduce dust and airborne contaminants by using engineering and work practice controls. The use of masks will help if that cannot be controlled                    

• Finally, if a worker shows symptoms or test positive for COVID-19, they should be sent home to self-quarantine and remain away from work and only return after being cleared by medical personnel or a healthcare provider.                 

Following these COVID-19 basic infection prevention measures will help keep your employees stay safe from coronavirus and to help flatten the curve for everyone.