One strategy would be to close some or all of an institute's cafeterias or cafes "to discourage students, staff and faculty from gathering in group settings." Another would be to offer "grab-and-go" bagged lunches or meal delivery. The CDC has advised colleges and universities toĬonsider modifications to food services to encourage social distancing. If a food-service worker tests positive for the COVID-19 virus, Alonso said, the employer has an obligation to inform its employees-as well as its customers and vendors if it's a food-service business-and to recommend that they seek medical guidance if they were around the person who tested positive. "Lastly, some employers might opt to stop all food-bar options" and ask patrons to order from a menu instead of serving themselves. These types of businesses should also be monitoring the food bars already but could be even more proactive in watching customers if it is left for them to serve themselves as usual."Īdditionally, "there is a potential for engaging in food cycling," which is bringing out fresh food to replace what's been sitting out, "and cleaning on a more frequent interval than they currently follow," he told "Many organizations like this have opted to designate employees to serve the food or have limited the access that the general public has to … this food. One best practice for food establishments or organizations that have a company cafeteria is to close the salad bar, he acknowledged, but other options also are available, depending on how the food area is set up. "We ask that each of these organizations follow the guidance provided by the CDC or OSHA," he said. SHRM webcast with the CDC that cleaning the food-service preparation areas, as well as the utensils, "is absolutely critical." The Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) chief knowledge officer, Alex Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, noted in a recent "To be vigilant, employers should have a low threshold for dismissing those individuals who are tasked with communal food preparation to avoid massive contamination," Quigley noted.Įmployers look for signs and symptoms of illness among individuals and track those with a history of travel to high-risk areas. This includes asking questions regarding their health to determine whether they have any flu-like symptoms.Īdditionally, employees should not report for work if they show any flu-like characteristics. " should, at the very least, be ensuring those individuals preparing the food have been properly screened for recent travel history to impacted areas and are properly screened on a daily basis," he said. Organizations that have cafeterias should practice dutiful care as they would at any time, he added. Practice good kitchen or lunchroom hygiene, Quigley advised, by wiping down your table surface when you finish eating, using disinfectant, and not sharing food or beverages. However, it's thought to be mainly transmitted person to person-between people within 6 feet of each other through respiratory droplets spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It's possible to contract COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touching one's mouth, nose or eyes, according to the U.S. "We just have to be a little more aware of our surroundings and how we are our workstations." "When Lois is giving her farewell address, everyone is spread 2 meters apart," Quigley said. That's also true of practicing social distancing at these events. "It's just a courtesy issue and a preventive one." Taking preventive steps, such as having one person serve the food, shouldn't cause "any massive inconvenience to anybody," he said. And the homemade brownies don't have to be banned from the office, provided the baker was healthy and the goodies were individually wrapped. Quigley suggested that instead of eliminating the availability of food at work at this time, employers should find safer ways to serve it.Īt his organization, one person wearing gloves and a mask known as an N95 respirator would serve the pre-cut slices of pizza or retirement cake to employees. Occupational and Health Administration (OSHA) notes that "for most people in the U.S.-including most types of workers-the risk of infection with COVID-19 is currently low." "We have to decide where we're going to draw the line" as far as the precautions an employer takes during the coronavirus outbreak, he said.
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