{"id":1483,"date":"2020-11-06T13:39:41","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T13:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/updated-cdc-covid-19-exposure-guidelines-require-employer-precautions\/"},"modified":"2022-11-22T15:44:13","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T15:44:13","slug":"updated-cdc-covid-19-exposure-guidelines-require-employer-precautions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/updated-cdc-covid-19-exposure-guidelines-require-employer-precautions\/","title":{"rendered":"Updated CDC COVID-19 Exposure Guidelines Require Employer Precautions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (\u201cCDC\u201d) issued new guidance clarifying what \u201cclose contact\u201d means when it comes to transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. The new COVID-19 exposure guidelines now provides that brief interactions can expose individuals to the virus. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What can Employers do to Help Reduce the Risk of COVID-19 Exposure in the Workplace?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y9po2wO0nJc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CDC\u2019s New COVID-19 Exposure Guidance<br><\/strong>The CDC\u2019s previous guidance provided that close contact occurred when a person was within six feet of an infectious individual for 15 <em>consecutive minutes<\/em>.&nbsp; The new guidance defines close contact as spending a total of 15 minutes of contact with an infectious person over the course of a 24-hour period. Specifically, the CDC guidance states that close conduct occurs when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a <strong><u>cumulative total<\/u><\/strong> of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>* Individual exposures added together over a 24-hour period (e.g., three 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes). Data are limited, making it difficult to precisely define \u201cclose&nbsp;contact;\u201d however, 15 cumulative minutes of exposure at a distance of 6 feet or less can be used as an operational definition for contact investigation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>According to the CDC COVID-19 exposure guidelines, factors to consider when defining close contact include:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><em>Proximity (closer distance likely increases exposure risk),<\/em><\/li><li><em>The duration of potential exposure (longer exposure time likely increases exposure risk),<\/em><\/li><li><em>Whether the infected individual has symptoms of COVID-19 (the period around onset of symptoms is associated with the highest levels of viral shedding),<\/em><\/li><li><em>If the infected person with COVID-19 was likely to generate respiratory aerosols (e.g., was coughing, singing, shouting), and<\/em><\/li><li><em>Other environmental factors (crowding, adequacy of ventilation, whether exposure was indoors or outdoors). <\/em><em><\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance to Employers<br><\/strong>Because brief interactions can expose employees to COVID-19, following safety procedures and policies (such as social distancing, wearing masks and contact tracing) is as important as ever. &nbsp;Under the new guidance, a singular positive COVID case in the workplace can potentially expose many more coworkers and individuals who will then be forced to self-quarantine as a result of their exposure. This could impact staffing issues.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some strategies the CDC suggests to reducing the risk of exposure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Implement flexible worksites (e.g., telework).<\/li><li>Implement flexible work hours (e.g., rotate or stagger shifts to limit the number of employees in the workplace at the same time).<\/li><li>Increase physical space between employees at the worksite by modifying the workspace.<\/li><li>Increase physical space between employees and customers (e.g., drive-through service, physical barriers such as partitions).<\/li><li>Use signs, tape marks, or other visual cues such as decals or colored tape on the floor, placed 6 feet apart, to indicate where to stand when physical barriers are not possible.<\/li><li>Implement flexible meeting and travel options (e.g., postpone non-essential meetings or events in accordance with state and local regulations and guidance).<\/li><li>Close or limit access to common areas where employees are likely to congregate and interact.<\/li><li>Prohibit handshaking.<\/li><li>Deliver services remotely (e.g., phone, video, or web).<\/li><li>Adjust your business practices to reduce close contact with customers \u2014 for example, by providing drive-through service, click-and-collect online shopping, shop-by-phone, curbside pickup, and delivery options, where feasible.<\/li><li>Move the electronic payment terminal\/credit card reader farther away from the cashier, if possible, to increase the distance between the customer and the cashier.<\/li><li>Shift primary stocking activities to off-peak or after hours, when possible, to reduce contact with customers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<br><\/strong>The new CDC guidance serves as a somber reminder that COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that can spread easily in the workplace. In light of the CDC\u2019s revised definition of close contact, employers should alter their <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211130101032\/https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/news\/5-key-lessons-from-recent-tennis-debacle-covid-19-return-to-work-plan\/\">workplaces<\/a><strong> <\/strong>to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure.&nbsp; <strong><u><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The guidance also reminds us that our understanding of the novel coronavirus is evolving and, therefore, we must continue to regularly monitor CDC guidelines and developments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As always, please&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:kwinkler@bfvlaw.com\">let me know<\/a>&nbsp;if I can help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (\u201cCDC\u201d) issued new guidance clarifying what \u201cclose contact\u201d means when it comes to transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19. The new COVID-19 exposure guidelines now provides that brief interactions can expose individuals to the virus. &nbsp; CDC\u2019s New COVID-19 Exposure GuidanceThe CDC\u2019s previous guidance provided that close [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,195,6,3,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Updated CDC COVID-19 Exposure Guidelines Require Employer Precautions - Berman Fink Van Horn P.C.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new COVID-19 exposure guidelines now provides that brief interactions can expose individuals to the virus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/updated-cdc-covid-19-exposure-guidelines-require-employer-precautions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Updated CDC COVID-19 Exposure Guidelines Require Employer Precautions - 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