Coronavirus (COVID-19) workplace risk management

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The document is designed help staff to identify and manage health and safety risks associated
with the exposure to COVID-19.
COVID-19 spreads from person to person in a similar way to the flu:

- From close contact with an infected person

- From touching objects or surfaces contaminated by the sneeze or cough of an infected
person and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

COVID-19 can cause symptoms like the flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, tiredness or
shortness of breath.

It is important to remember that most people who become ill with respiratory symptoms at work
are likely suffering from a cold, the flu or other respiratory illness – not COVID-19.

Getting our workplace ready for COVID -19

Simple ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at workplace

Simple low- cost hygiene practices and measures, like those used to protect against the flu, can
help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections to all those visiting XXX
offices including staff.
Country programmes should start doing these things now, even if COVID-19 has not arrived in
some of the communities where they operate.
 Keep the workplace clean and hygienic. Regularly disinfecting high-touch surfaces such
as door handles, lift buttons, telephones, keyboard and workstations helps prevent
contamination.
 Promote regular and thorough hand-washing by employees, consultants and visitors.
 Put sanitizing hand rub dispensers in prominent places around the offices. Make sure
these dispensers are regularly refilled.
 Make sure that staff, consultants and visitors have access to places where they can wash
their hands with soap and water.
 Display posters promoting hand-washing and respiratory hygiene.
 Combine this with other communication measures such as offering guidance/briefings
during departmental Meetings.
 Promote good respiratory hygiene in the offices.
 Ensure that paper tissues are available at offices, for those who develop a runny nose or
cough at work, along with closed bins for hygienically disposing of them.
 Brief staff/or anyone working in office that anyone with even a mild cough or low-grade
fever needs to stay at home. They should also stay home (or work from home) if they
have had to take simple medications, such as paracetamol.
  Keep communicating and promoting the message that staff need to stay at home even if
they have just mild symptoms of COVID-19. Discuss this message and combine this
with other communication channels commonly used in the organization. Make clear to
employees that they will be able to count this time off as sick leave.
 Provinces should get extra petty cash for emergence related cases.
 Help staff to be given advance and pay salaries early to help them stock food because
prices are likely to shoot and avoid visiting crowded places such as supermarket.
 The Organisation to develop staff information kit and share regularly with staff.
 To flee employees and go home before rush hours to avoid congestion with many people.

Things to consider when you and your employees travel

Before traveling
- Based on the latest information, the Department Manager should assess the benefits and
risks related to upcoming travel plans.
- All business travels including in-country must be approved by the Executive Director.
Only business critical travels will be considered. Anyone travelling must complete a
business case.
- Department Manager’s should make sure that his/her staff have the latest information on
areas where COVID-19 is spreading both in country and regionally.
- OPHD will avoid sending employees who may be at higher risk of serious illness (e.g.
lung disease) to areas where COVID-19 is spreading.
- Staff not willing to travel should not be forced to travel.
- Make sure all persons travelling to locations reporting COVID-19 are briefed by a
qualified professional (e.g. health care provider)
- Consider issuing employees who are about to travel with key contact emergence contacts,
extra cash, telephone/internet roaming services and small bottles of alcohol-based hand
rub.
While traveling:
- Staff who become sick while travelling or after returning from affected areas should seek
immediate medical advice and notify their Line Manager and HR.
- Encourage employees to wash their hands regularly and stay at least one meter away
from people who are coughing or sneezing.
- Ensure employees know what to do and who to contact if they feel ill while traveling.
- Ensure that staff comply with instructions from local authorities where they are traveling.
If, for example, they are told by local authorities not to go somewhere they should
comply with this. Staff should comply with any local restrictions on travel, movement or
large gatherings.
When a staff return from traveling:
- Staff who have returned from an area where COVID-19 is spreading should monitor
themselves for symptoms for 14 days.
- If they develop even a mild cough or low grade fever they should stay at home and self-
isolate. This means avoiding close contact (one meter or nearer) with other people,
including family members.
- They should also telephone their line manager/HR, healthcare provider or the local public
health department, giving them details of their recent travel and symptoms.
Self-quarantine
Staff will have the right to self-quarantine themselves for 14 days if they if they have: -

- Recently travelled to countries considered high risk or any country

- Been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Employees who need to self-quarantine should notify their Manager and stay away from work.
They should seek immediate medical attention if they become ill during the quarantine period
and call ahead of arriving and mention their travel or contact history.

XXX should make appropriate arrangements so that workers who need to self-quarantine stay

away from work. Where possible, the worker should be provided with flexible work
arrangements such as working from home.

A plan of what to do if someone becomes ill with suspected COVID-19 at one of your
workplaces
- The plan should cover putting the ill person in a room or area where they are isolated
from others in the workplace, limiting the number of people who have contact with the
sick person and contacting the local health authorities and our medical services providers.
- Consider how to identify persons who may be at risk, and support them, without inviting
stigma and discrimination into your workplace. This could include staff/persons who
have recently been in contact with the affected person.
- Promote regular teleworking across the country programme. If there is an outbreak of
COVID-19 you’re your community, the health authorities may advise people to avoid
public transport and crowded places. Teleworking will keep us operating while
employees stay safe.
- Constitute a crisis management team to ensure business continuity plans are in place in
case of an outbreak in the communities where XXX operates.
- The plan will help prepare the organization for the possibility of an outbreak of
COVID19 in the workplaces or community.
- The plan should address how to keep your business running even if a significant number
of employees, contractors and partners cannot come to our place of work - either due to
local restrictions on travel or because they are ill.
 - Be sure your plan addresses the mental health and social consequences (through your
medical services provider) of a case of COVID-19 in the workplace or in the community
and offer information and support.

Working from Home

Where staff are at increased risk from contact with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19,
additional infection prevention and control practices will be required. Staff will work from home
in such instances under guidance from the regional crises’ management team led by the
Executive Director.

Essential Tips for Working at Home & Being Productive.

- You should have at least one dedicated work area that’s free from distraction and offers
privacy from your home life.
If possible, find a room in your home that is not used for other purposes, and turn that
into your office.  You’ll need it for privacy when you’re on important phone calls,
conference call meetings and working on priority projects.
- If you’re working at home for an extended period, beyond obvious things like your
laptop and mobile phone, you’ll also need the following: Internet Bundle/Airtime,
comfortable chair and desk, a headset for video conferencing and capability - Skype,
Teams.
- If possible, the Manager and any other critical roles can be supported to make remote
work easier by providing scanner, printer, copier…and most importantly support from
your IT department.
- Staff should start going home with their laptops because people may be instructed not to
go out of their homes.
- Get dressed before they begin working. When you sit around in pajamas with blankets
and pillows, it is all too easy to end up getting lazy and not getting anything done because
you are too comfy.
- Make sure to create a time slot for each of the day’s activities, just like you do at work. 
This helps with communicating to others when your work-time and off/break-time is.
- Communicate your work schedule/calendar to colleagues and all other key people you
interact with. 
- Stay connected. Make sure that you’re readily available via e-mail, phone, text, instant
message, Skype and/or conference call.
- Prepare ahead for group meetings via conference call. If you have daily meetings with
your team or clients, try to make sure that you try to schedule everything to take place
back-to-back, within the same time block — if you can.
- Take breaks. When making your schedule, you might want to consider working in
smaller breaks, and allowing yourself time to get up from the computer to stretch. This
will really help you both physically and mentally.