What Do You Do If an Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19?

Blog

With COVID-19 rates on the rise again, what does your business do if one of your employees tests positive for COVID-19?
The good news is that you probably can keep your business open, but you do need to respond. The precise steps you should take depend on our company’s working environment.

What to Do If You Have a Remote Workforce

If a remote worker catches COVID-19, there may be little you have to do. Assuming the employee has had no physical contact with other employees, there is little to no chance that other employees are at risk. Make sure the infected worker gets the proper medical care and stays isolated from other people, including other employees, for at least 14 days past the initial diagnosis. You may want to alert your other employees about the situation, if only to ensure they don’t come into contact with the infected employee, although your company’s privacy policies may prohibit you from making public the person’s name.

What to Do If You Run an Office

If the infected employee is part of a normal office environment, your duty is to notify anyone who could have contacted the virus from this person and ensure that the virus does not further spread. Here are the steps you need to take:

  1. Promptly separate any sick employees from others and send them home to quarantine. Make sure that they don’t return to work for 14 days.
  2. Identify close work contacts of the person who tested positive. Focus on people who have had at least 15 minutes of contact within 6 feet of the infected person, beginning two days before the person who tested positive developed symptoms. You do not need to give these names to local or state public health agencies.
  3. Make sure that exposed employees stay home from work and quarantine for 14 days from the last day they were exposed to the person with COVID-19. These employees should also be tested for the coronavirus.
  4. Do not let any affected employee return to work if they exhibit any possible symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell. Employees are not required to have a medical examination, testing, or official letter to return to work.

What to Do If You Run a Retail Store

If you run a retail store your responsibility extends beyond your employees to any customers who may have come into contact with the infected person. In addition to the steps outlined above, determine if the infected worker has come into close contact with any customers – that is, if the person has had at least 15 minutes of contact within 6 feet of any customers. If so, contact those customers, if possible, and inform them of the potential exposure. You should advise the customers that they should quarantine and be tested for the virus. Obviously, the entire work environment of the infected worker should be completely disinfected – which could mean closing your entire store for cleaning.