With the Supreme Court blocking Biden’s vaccine mandate for large employers, many organizations are now tasked with setting up their own internal policies with regard to COVID, vaccinations, and testing. When considering how to approach these issues, one of the first questions you’ll need to ask is, “What is the protocol when an employee is tested positive for COVID-19?”

Luckily, the CDC and OSHA have laid out guidelines that can help you create protocols that address when an employee tests positive. Here’s what you need to know to keep your employees safe. 

FOLLOW THE OSHA ETS MANDATE

The Supreme Court’s decision means that large employers are not legally required to abide by OSHA’s emergency temporary standards, however, these guidelines can help form the backbone of your company’s policy. Not only will these measures help keep your team safe, but they’ll also help to mitigate outbreaks, preventing your workplace from shutdowns. 

With regard to employees testing positive, the OSHA ETS requires employers to:

• Ensure unvaccinated employees are tested weekly for COVID-19.
• Require employees to provide immediate notice of positive test results.
• Remove from the workplace any person who tests positive for COVID-19.
• Keep those employees out of work until return-to-work criteria are met.

INFORM OTHER EMPLOYEES

In addition to those who test positive, you’ll also want to devise a way to address the issue of viral contact. Based on CDC recommendations, you should inform employees that they were potentially exposed to COVID-19. 

It’s important not to violate ADA regulations by disclosing the person who tested positive for COVID-19. Instead, notify your team that a person has tested positive and privately reach out to those who were in close contact with the positive employee. 

For schools, many districts have different policies in place, and these will supersede CDC guidelines. In most cases, you’ll need to set up avenues to inform parents that their children may have been exposed and, again, privately reach out to those in close contact with the person who has COVID-19.  

CLOSE CONTACT EMPLOYEES

Consider setting up a protocol for all employees who were in close contact––within 6 feet––for prolonged periods of time. Based on CDC Public Health Recommendations, these people should also remain at home for 5 days, and take precautions–such as social distancing–for 10 days after exposure and self-monitoring for symptoms.

DISINFECT 

The CDC recommends that workplaces develop a regular schedule of cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces. Additionally, in the event that a team member tests positive for COVID-19, you’ll want to introduce additional sanitation measures. If a person who tested positive for COVID-19 has been in your workplace within the last 24 hours, you should disinfect any spaces they occupied.

Before cleaning and disinfecting, close off the area to prevent others from being exposed. Wait at least several hours before you clean and disinfect. Use this time to ensure that your disinfectants are on the EPA List N, which will be noted on the bottle of the disinfectant.

While cleaning, open doors and windows and use fans (if available) to increase air circulation in the area. Focus on the immediate areas occupied by the person who is sick or diagnosed with COVID-19, including desks, chairs, restrooms, technology and any other surfaces they frequently use.

CREATE A “RETURN TO WORK” POLICY

Successfully removing anyone infected with COVID-19 is only one step of the process. You’ll also need to develop a strategy for how to reintroduce them to your facilities, allowing them to resume work. This is what’s known as a return-to-work policy.

Currently, the CDC recommends returning to work when the following criteria are met:

• Asymptomatic adults with COVID-19 can stop isolating five days after the positive test, provided they wear a mask around others for the following five days.
• Adults with mild COVID-19 symptoms should isolate for five days after the first positive test and after fever ends for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication. This group should also wear a mask around people for five days after the end of their fevers.
• Adults with moderate COVID-19 symptoms should isolate for ten days. 
• People who are severely ill with COVID-19 should isolate for 10-20 days after the fever period ends. 

REDUCE THE CHANCES OF THE DISEASE SPREADING

To protect your other team members, it’s essential to implement stringent measures that follow the positive test of another employee. Additionally, one of the most effective ways to keep them safe is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 altogether. 

Start by keeping track of your employees’ vaccination and testing status. This way, sick employees can stay home, and unvaccinated employees can take greater precautions. However, for large organizations, it can be difficult to track everyone, which can quickly lead to a massive spread. That’s why it’s important to use a platform that tracks it for you. 

ConfirmD provides a streamlined way to securely store and track COVID-related medical records in a HIPAA-compliant fashion. Between vaccine cards and weekly tests––often obtained from a variety of outlets––keeping adequate records of employee health information can be a near-impossible task, but ConfirmD can function as a digital health wallet. This platform, designed and monitored by health professionals, allows workers to easily upload the results of COVID-19 tests, and it presents these results in an enterprise database, allowing employers to keep better track of key medical information. 

Day by day, the pandemic continues to evolve, both in terms of variants and the ways in which we keep our workplaces safe. The first step to keeping everyone safe is by giving your team members access to easy COVID testing and providing them with a simple and secure way to share their results, you can keep everyone protected from the spread of the virus.