That’s a judgement call… but since several days have already likely passed since the exclusions, we’re not advising to go back and exclude additional employees. The CDC and health departments have not advised us to do that. Going forward, exclusions need to be for coworkers who worked within six feet for fifteen minutes or more. Feedback is that is often everyone in a restaurant, store or office.
We are not recommending exclusion of employees who attended protests. Many attendees were masked, maintained some level of social distancing and all were out of doors. This is a challenging issue and question. We have spoken one on one with senior leadership across our client base and it seems nearly everyone is on the same page on this one. Seriously hoping we don’t see positives a few days from now as a result but the US Surgeon General issued a warning that he believes it is likely.
This is a very difficult question and one we don’t feel comfortable answering. One client readily excluded an employee in this situation who told them he was not masked and in a large crowd for several hours. Several others did not. This is a question that requires further discussion and for which there may not be a single answer. Did the employee travel by mass transportation to the protest? Were they masked?
They probably should be excluded. Doctors are not advising random COVID testing, or curiosity testing. So if a doctor advises someone to be tested, it is likely because they have reported some symptoms, contact, or other circumstances which suggest testing is indicated. There are some instances where doctors order testing before a surgical or other procedure in which case exclusion awaiting results would not be needed.
Probably not (at least not now). There are circumstances where testing everyone makes sense (to reduce anxiety level, or because they all had similar exposures as the person who is positive). But testing everyone doesn’t mean they can return to work sooner or that a negative test means they don’t have or aren’t still incubating COVID-19. Testing everyone, at this point in time, can be a slippery slope and needs careful consideration. And testing is still not as readily available as one would expect. There are many states with short supply and testing sites that require pre-test screening to determine eligibility.
Good question and needs case by case evaluation. For a server waiting on a guest, the answer is likely yes with the new definition of exposure. However, for a masked customer with a generally quick retail transaction, probably not. This is a question we’re hearing more frequently.
As we move into the next phase of living with COVID-19, this article from the NY Times looks ahead at COVID at 6 months.
A day where we passed on a best laugh.