COVID-19 Update

As part of NIOSH’s efforts to keep our stakeholders up to date on the CDC and NIOSH COVID-19 response, below is a summary of new information posted this week for workers.

General 

• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
  This document helps guide employers to implement engineering, administrative, and work practice controls and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as considerations for doing so. It is intended for planning purposes. Employers and workers should use this guidance to help identify risk levels in workplace settings and to determine any appropriate control measures to implement. Additional guidance may be needed as COVID-19 outbreak conditions change, including as new information about the virus, its transmission, and impacts, becomes available.

Healthcare Worker Resources

• Return to Work for Healthcare Personnel
  New criteria for return to work for healthcare personnel (HCP) with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 is now available on the CDC website. This guidance is for occupational health programs and public health officials making decisions about return to work for HCP with confirmed COVID-19, or who have suspected COVID-19 (e.g., developed symptoms of a respiratory infection [e.g., cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, fever] but did not get tested for COVID-19).
  
• Clinician Toolkit
  CDC’s Prepare to Care for COVID-19 is a resource with practical tools clinicians can use to care for patients with COVID-19. This resource will be regularly updated to help clinicians adapt as the outbreak unfolds.
  
• New NIOSH Science Blog: Proper N95 Respirator Use for Respiratory Protection Preparedness
  Healthcare facilities should ensure that healthcare workers who may be called to care for COVID-19 patients are prepared to use respiratory protection, among other personal protective equipment. Healthcare facilities should make sure their healthcare workers are fit tested, if possible, medically evaluated, and receive ongoing training in proper use. This resource has reminders and illustrations about proper respiratory use.

To stay up to date on the response please visit the COVID-19 webpage or sign up for the COVID-19 newsletter.