Physical distancing measures have proven to significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19, and many people can achieve a safe physical distance from others by working from home.

For those whose jobs involve being in a workplace with other employees, and often the public, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is higher. Employers have a responsibility to put protocols in place that will reduce the likelihood of workplace outbreaks and protect employees.

In their “Working in a bubble: How can businesses reopen while limiting the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks?” researchers from the University of Calgary, Queen’s University, the University of Toronto, Toronto General Hospital and Harvard University outlined some of the ways employers can achieve this.

According to the authors, and these are the protocols your employer should have in place.

COHORTING

Just like students in elementary and high school are separated into class cohorts, the employers should place employees into cohorts, or bubbles, consisting of the least number of people necessary to do a given job without needing to interact with other staff outside their cohort.

People working in cohorts should only interact with one another, and there shouldn’t be any interaction between cohorts. These bubbles should kept separate from one another through the creation of a rotating work schedule, through physical separation within the workplace or both. In other words, they should be separate in time, space or both.

If someone needs to move into a different work cohort, there should be a five-day gap between their last day with one cohort and their first day with another, to wait out the incubation period of the virus.

STRATEGIC STAFFING AND SCHEDULING

say employers may need to lower staffing levels at the workplace to maintain appropriate physical distancing, or else look at how they can adjust or stagger employees’ work schedules to support physical distancing while maintaining the same staffing levels.

EMPLOYEE AND VISITOR SYMPTOM SCREENING

Employees should be for COVID-19 symptoms before the start of their shift. An employee experiencing any COVID-like symptoms — fever, cough, etc. — should be told to go home and contact their local public health unit to discuss their testing options. 

In workplaces where staff interact with the public, before entering and should not enter if they have any symptoms.

CONTACT TRACING

As long as workplace cohorts are carefully managed and employers keep logs of when employees worked and who they worked with, an employee who tests positive for COVID-19 can notify their employer, who can

CLEANING

Shared work tools and commonly-touched surfaces after each use.