"What happens if someone in my workforce tests positive for Coronavirus"?

As the risk of contracting Coronavirus in our region increases, it's imperative that essential service businesses and employees discuss and prepare their contingency plans to ensure operations can continue.

One of the most frequent questions we've been asked in the last week has been "What happens if someone in my workforce tests positive for Coronavirus"?

How COVID-19 spreads

When someone who has COVID-19 coughs or exhales they release droplets of infected fluid. Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects - such as desks, tables or telephones. People could catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects - and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. If they are standing within one meter of a person with COVID-19 they can catch it by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them. In other words, COVID-19 spreads in a similar way to flu. (Source: World Health Organisation)

Someone has tested positive in the workplace - What to do next?

For any commercial or residential environments in which someone has tested positive for Covid-19, the following steps are recommended to minimise and prevent further exposure to others.

• Notify your local public health agency - The advice of local health authorities may vary, contacting your local representative will provide the most accurate information.
• Notify all employees, clients, visitors and suppliers that may have been exposed to the person that has tested positive, they may be required to be tested or self-isolate. Keeping a visitor log with contact details is a great way to quickly follow up when the time arises.
• Ensure no-one re-enters the areas in which the exposed person/s had access to. In the case of an emergency, anyone entering should be fitted with Personal Protective Equipment including a surgical mask, safety glasses and gloves, (these must be disinfected and disposed of correctly) and the authorities should be notified for testing purposes.
• Conduct a thorough clean and disinfection of all surfaces using Benzalkonium Chloride, and/or a more thorough fogging decontamination clean.
• Commence your Coronavirus contingency plan i.e. second isolated team of employees can return to the building post decontamination.

Most importantly, remember to respect the privacy and confidentiality of the person who has tested positive. Whilst we must take action to protect our businesses and wider community, this is an incredibly difficult time for anyone affected by the Covid-19 virus.

COVID-19 Decontamination Response Team

Following guidance from the World Health Organisation and governing bodies, Clean Feeling's Covid-19 Response Team has been developed to address this situation as quickly as possible, getting your workforce safely back into operations.

For any environments in which someone has tested positive, we're able to conduct a service called fogging. This is using a commercial fogging machine and specialised chemical to treat all surfaces. Once this has been completed, it is safe to re-enter after 2 hours. However, to maximise contact (dew) time, we recommend the environment be left untouched for 48 hours where possible. The chemical will continue to sit on all surfaces for up to 8 days.

• Non-toxic chemical - Safe around humans and animals
• Return to work/home after 2 hours
• 24/7 cleaning and fogging availability
• Kills 99.9% of Coronavirus and Influenza

FAQ

Q. Once my environment has been fogged, if someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 returns, will that prevent the virus from spreading?

A. No. If someone has tested positive for Covid-19, they and those who they had been in contact with must enter quarantine and not return to the premises until cleared by medical staff. If this is ignored, re-fogging will be required. This is why we highly recommend fogging to be completed when there is no one in the home/office as it's essentially a fresh start.

For any further information on fogging services you can reach out to the Clean Feeling Team: [email protected] or 07 4998 5250.