The Government launches a guide to good practices in the workplace against COVID-19

Interpersonal distance and strict hygiene are the fundamental pillars of these good practices.

April 11 2020 (16:54 WEST)
The Government launches a guide of good practices in the workplace against COVID-19
The Government launches a guide of good practices in the workplace against COVID-19

The Government of Spain has published a guide to good practices in workplaces to prevent COVID-19 infections, coinciding with the return to work, on Monday and Tuesday, of all those workers in non-essential activities who cannot work remotely. 

The guide includes the most essential hygiene and interpersonal distance measures to apply before, during and after attending work. 

As a first measure, if symptoms appear or there has been close contact with people affected by the virus, the recommendation is not to go to the workplace until it is confirmed that there is no risk to oneself or others. To do this, you should contact the COVID telephone number of each autonomous community and consult the decalogue of action in case of symptoms available in this link. 

People who are more vulnerable due to age, pregnancy or medical conditions should also not do so. If necessary, they can contact their doctor to certify their need for isolation and, if so, it will be considered for labor purposes as a situation similar to an accident at work for the financial benefit of temporary disability.    

Travel to work 


The good practice guide recommends favoring travel to work by means that do not involve grouping with more people, guaranteeing the important interpersonal distance of 2 meters. 

If you choose a car or a VTC, you should take extreme measures to clean it and avoid traveling more than one person per row of seats, maintaining the greatest possible distance between occupants. When traveling by bus, subway or train, it is recommended to keep interpersonal distance with other travelers and, in the case of public transport, the guide recommends using a hygienic, non-medical mask.  

 

At the workplace 


Regarding the workplace itself, tasks, entrances and exits must be planned so that workers can maintain the recommended interpersonal distance, of approximately 2 meters. 

Likewise, it is necessary to ensure that interpersonal distance is maintained in common areas and that crowds of personnel are avoided in these areas. The return to normality of those activities that involve a risk of crowding should take place last.  

When dealing with companies or establishments open to the public, measures must be implemented to minimize contact between workers and the public, with the following recommendations being stated in the guide; the maximum capacity must allow compliance with the interpersonal distance requirement; when possible, access control mechanisms will be enabled at the entrances; all the public, including those waiting, must maintain interpersonal distance; the company must provide personal protective equipment when the risks cannot be avoided or cannot be sufficiently limited by technical means of collective protection or by means of measures or procedures for the organization of work and personal protective equipment will be appropriate to the activities and work to be carried out. 

When the workspace does not allow maintaining interpersonal distance in ordinary shifts, work schedules will be staggered as much as possible, which will also avoid crowding in transportation, and it is recommended to facilitate teleworking and videoconferencing. In this way, work trips that are not essential and that can be resolved by call or videoconference should be avoided. 

Regarding the use of masks in the workplace, the guide indicates that it is not essential to use a mask during the working day if the type of work does not require it and if interpersonal distance is maintained.   

Organizational measures 


 

Personnel must be informed of the health recommendations that they must follow individually and will be provided with the necessary hygiene products -soap, hydroalcoholic solution and disposable tissues- to be able to follow the individual recommendations. 

Daily, reinforced sanitization tasks must be undertaken with products authorized by the Ministry of Health for disinfection that can be consulted in this link.   Likewise, the guide indicates that it is necessary to have sufficient supply of protective material, especially gloves and masks, and that specific measures must be adopted to minimize the risk of transmission to especially sensitive or vulnerable workers, such as people over 65 years of age, pregnant women and people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic lung diseases, cancer and immunosuppression.  

Companies must facilitate, through occupational risk prevention services, teleworking or low-risk working conditions.  If this is not possible, employees in these circumstances may request an assessment from their primary care physician. 

In the field of occupational safety, it is advisable to carry out a contingency plan identifying the risk of exposure to the virus of the different activities and adopting protection measures in each case, as well as protocols for the protection of the staff and the employees who manifest symptoms. 

 

Recommendations to workers 


 

The guide recommends to workers, in addition to maintaining the interpersonal distance of 2 meters, thus avoiding close greetings, to avoid, as far as possible, the shared use of equipment. If it is necessary to share them, precaution measures must be increased, disinfecting it before using them if possible. If it is not, hands must be washed immediately after use in the recommended way that can be consulted here.  

The guide recommends not touching the eyes, nose and mouth, as well as frequent hand washing with soap and water, for at least 40 seconds, or with a hydroalcoholic solution. It is especially important to wash after coughing or sneezing or after touching potentially contaminated surfaces. 

In case of coughing or sneezing, the recommendation to cover the nose and mouth with the inner part of the elbow or a disposable tissue is reminded, throwing it then into a trash can that has a closure. 

Hygiene measures in the workplace 


The guide advises periodic ventilation in the facilities at least daily and for a space of five minutes.  To help the good renewal of the air and do it regularly, it is recommended to reinforce the cleaning of the air filters and increase the level of ventilation of the air conditioning systems.  

It is convenient to reinforce the cleaning tasks in all rooms, with special incidence on surfaces, especially those that are touched more frequently such as windows or door knobs, as well as all the equipment of habitual use by the employees, from machinery controls to tables and computers. In each shift change it is necessary to clean the work area used by an employee. 

The cleaning staff assigned to these tasks must have correct protection, performing all tasks with a mask and single-use gloves, in addition to having the usual detergents, as they are sufficient, although the incorporation of bleach or other disinfectants to the cleaning routines can also be considered, always in safe conditions. 

Likewise, once the cleaning is finished, and after removing gloves and mask, it is necessary that the cleaning staff perform a complete hand hygiene, with soap and water, at least 40-60 seconds. 

Work uniforms or similar, will be bagged and closed, and will be transferred to the point where their usual washing is done, recommending a washing with a complete cycle at a temperature between 60 and 90 degrees.    

 

Waste management in the workplace 


 

The management of ordinary waste will continue to be carried out in the usual way, respecting the waste separation protocols. 

It is recommended that the disposable tissues that the staff uses for hand drying or for the fulfillment of the "respiratory etiquette" be disposed of in bins or containers protected with a lid and, if possible, operated by pedal. 

All personal hygiene material -masks, latex gloves, etc. -must be deposited in the "rest" fraction (grouping of waste of domestic origin that is obtained once the separate collections have been made).  

In the event that a worker presents symptoms while at work, it will be necessary to isolate the container where he/she has deposited tissues or other used products. That garbage bag must be extracted and placed in a second garbage bag, with closure, for deposit in the rest fraction.  

Upon returning from the workplace to their homes, workers must take care of distances and hygiene measures at home, especially if they live with people from risk groups. 

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