Coronavirus resources for workplaces

Home/.../COVID-19 INFORMATION CENTRE/Region of Waterloo Public Health COVID-19 section/Coronavirus resources for workplaces

different shapes and sizes of the virus

Ontario is gradually reopening businesses, services and public spaces. For more information visit Reopening Ontario. As the Region of Waterloo enters Stage 3 on July 17, 2020 there will be changes in gathering limits and restrictions. Further details can be found in A Framework for Reopening our Province - Stage 3.

As businesses re-open, it is recommended operational changes are implemented or allow employees to work from home, where possible, in order to protect staff and customers from COVID-19.

While all employees should continue to practice physical distancing, hand hygiene, and wear face coverings where appropriate, additional measures are needed to protect workplaces, employees, and customers.

Face Covering By-law for businesses

Business support

To view business support provided by both the federal and provincial government, please refer to Ontario’s Support for Businesses and the Government of Canada’s Support for Businesses.

Screening

All businesses are required to screen any workers or essential visitors entering the work environment. This does not include patrons entering a workplace (e.g., customers entering a grocery store, restaurant, car, or other food or drink establishments). It also excludes emergency services or other first responders entering a workplace for emergency purposes. Further, essential workers who travel outside of Canada for work purposes should not be excluded entry on this basis alone.

Screening should occur before or when a worker enters the workplace at the beginning of their day or shift, or when an essential visitor arrives.

At minimum, the questions in the Ministry of Health COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces should be used to screen individuals for COVID-19 before they are allowed entry into the workplace.

Workplace guidance

If your workplace is not listed below, please consult Ontario's Resources to prevent COVID-19 in the workplace for sector specific guidance and guidelines for developing a COVID-19 workplace safety plan. To find companies that sell personal protective equipment (PPE) please consult the Workplace PPE Supplier Directory.

Child care centres

Owners/operators of child care centres can consult our resources for child care centres page for our guidance document that supports – but does not replace – the advice, guidelines, recommendations, directives or other direction of provincial Ministries. For more details information and operational guidance during COVID-19, read the Ministry of Education’s Operational Guidance During COVID-19 Outbreak Child Care Reopening.

Owners/operators of summer camps can consult the Summer Camp Guidance Document for information that supports – but does not replace – the advice, guidelines, recommendations, directives or other direction of provincial Ministries. For more details information and operational guidance during COVID-19, read the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Guidance: Summer Day Camps.

Child care centres should continue to monitor for new guidance from the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Health related to child care centres.

For more details visit the Coronavirus resources for schools and child care centre page.

Fitness and sports activities

General principles (applicable to any setting)

Close contact with immediate household members only.
Physically distance and wear a face covering with everyone else.
Outside is safer than inside.
Stick to smaller groups. Smaller is safer.

More specific advice, applicable to fitness and sports settings

Ensure active screening for employees using the Screening Tool for Workplaces (Businesses and Organizations) before their shift
Employees and patrons should be encouraged to self-monitor by checking for COVID19 symptoms before coming to the facility, and stay home even they show any symptoms, even if they are mild
Consider expanding online offerings (e.g. online fitness classes)
Consider physical distance greater than 2 metres for fitness activities with high intensity (e.g. rapid inhalation, deep exhalation) and/or range of movement (e.g. dance fitness, medicine ball or kettlebell exercises)

At a minimum, exercise squares/circle for people to move about should be at least 2 metres apart, edge-to-edge, so people exercising within those spaces do not have an opportunity to get closer than 2 metres to others within their spaces

Ensure good ventilation and bring in fresh air
- Bring in fresh air by maximizing the outdoor air ratio of the facility's heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) system settings or by opening windows
- If this is not possible or practical for the whole facility, focus them in places where crowding may be an issue and areas used for group exercise classes
- Avoid recirculation of air as far as practically possible
Ensure sufficient contact time for disinfectant products
- In addition to using disinfectant products that have a Drug Identification Number (DIN) and have been approved by Health Canada, ensure sufficient contact time for the disinfectant products being used
- A product with a longer contact time will require more waiting time between users, so choosing a product with a shorter contact time that is appropriate for the surfaces being disinfected, will ensure an effective disinfection between users
No shouting, no loud music
- Instructors should consider the use of microphones to support physical distancing and avoid the need for raising their voices or shouting
- Patrons should not be permitted to sing along to the music or shout back at the instructor

Continue to check the Government of Ontario Guidance for facilities for sports and recreational fitness activities during COVID-19 for the most recent information.

Food premises

Review COVID-19 guidelines for re-opening restaurants and food services.

Guidance for Food Premises (Ministry of Health)
Resources to Prevent COVID-19 in the Workplace (Ministry of Labour)
Restaurant and Food Service: Guidance for Health and Safety (Ministry of Labour)

Food programs or food banks

Review COVID-19 guidelines for re-opening food programs.

Mobile food premises and temporary food vendors

Review COVID-19 guidelines for mobile food premises and temporary food vendors.

Resources to Prevent COVID-19 in the Workplace (Ministry of Labour)
Restaurant and Food Service: Guidance for Health and Safety (Ministry of Labour)

Personal service settings

Review COVID-19 guidelines for re-opening personal service settings including hairstyling and barbering, tattooing, micropigmentation, ear and body piercing, electrolysis, nail salons, and aesthetic services.

Recreational water

Review COVID-19 guidelines for re-opening recreational water including public pools, splash pads, spas, and wading pools.

General principles (applicable to any setting)

Only have close contact with your household members. Physically distance and wear a face covering with everyone else, including coworkers.
Stick to smaller groups. Smaller is safer. This includes in break rooms, for in-person meetings, etc.
Ask employees not to carpool. If they need to carpool, they should limit the number of vehicle occupants, open windows to create airflow and everyone in the vehicle should wear a face covering.
Remind workers to stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms, even if they are mild. Support employees who need to stay home for isolation or due to symptoms, with access to government support programs or other arrangements.
Ensure all high-touch tools and surfaces are cleaned and disinfected regularly with Health Canada approved disinfectants. For detailed information, refer to the Public Health Ontario guide to environmental cleaning.
Create greater distance between workers, keeping a distance of at least 2 metres from others, as much as possible.
Reduce the number of passengers on elevators and avoid crowding in stairwells and other tight spaces.
Give workers more opportunities to keep their hands clean, for example by providing soap and water or hand sanitizer if soap is not available.
Remind workers returning from travelling abroad that they must self-isolate for 14 days and monitor themselves for symptoms, even if mild.
Encourage your employees to download the COVID Alert app.

Break and lunch rooms

Stagger start times for shifts, breaks and lunch times. Limit the number of people using lunchrooms at any one time to ensure physical distancing can be maintained.
Ensure face coverings are worn at all times except when necessary to remove to consume food or drink.
Install physical barriers, such as plexiglass or similar, on lunch/break tables.
Arrange tables so that they are at least 2 metres apart.
Stagger seating at the tables to prevent people from directly facing each other (e.g. in a triangle formation)
Space out commonly used appliances (e.g. microwaves, toasters, etc.) in lunch/break rooms such that they are at least 2 metres apart.
Disinfect high touch surfaces frequently and in between break/lunch changes, using a disinfectant approved by Health Canada.

Meetings

Meet virtually as much as possible.
Limit in person meetings. If in-person meetings are necessary, meet in large rooms to ensure physical distancing can be adhered to and ensure everyone is wearing a face covering. Meeting outdoors, where possible, is also a safer option.
Offering food and snacks in meetings is not recommended.

Additional resources

Waterloo EDC
- Business support webinars
If you have questions about what will be open or impacts to your business or employment, call the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659.
For the latest updates from the Government of Ontario, please visit the Ontario Newsroom.

What happens when a person is diagnosed with COVID-19?

1. The testing lab notifies the responsible public health unit of each positive case of COVID-19.

2. Public Health staff then follow-up with the individual case to:

let the person know that they tested positive and to answer any questions they may have
advise them of the need to self-isolate for a specified period of time
try to determine how they may have been exposed to COVID-19
determine the places they went while infectious (e.g., to work or public places) and who their close contacts were. If close contacts are identified, Public Health will contact them and anyone else who we may need to speak with to assess risk to others (e.g., their employer)

3. Public Health staff will then follow-up with close contacts to let them know of the situation, to confirm if they were a close contact, and if so, to advise them to immediately self-isolate for 14 days following the last date of exposure to the case.

They will also give them information on how to self-monitor for symptoms, and what to do if they develop symptoms over the 14 days. Due to the way in which COVID-19 spreads to others (through respiratory droplets), only close contacts of the person are at an additional risk. Public Health will therefore only call close contacts.

What happens if the individual was at work while infectious?

There is now community spread of COVID-19 in the Region of Waterloo, so all interactions should be treated as a potential risk of exposure. If a person was at work while infectious, Public Health staff will determine if they posed any additional risk to the workplace than what exists in the general community.

Please Note: not all cases result in exposures. A transient interaction (e.g., walking past someone who tested positive) does not pose an increased risk. There is also no increased risk of exposure if the person was not at work while infectious.

Public Health will consult with the employer if additional information is needed about the individual (e.g., to confirm their close contacts or to clarify details that the employee cannot provide) or if any other measures need to be taken by the workplace or staff to reduce the risk of transmission.

It is important to note that Public Health:

is required by law to respect the privacy of the person infected
will only disclose a positive case to an employer if it is needed to manage the exposure risk to others

General Workplace Resources

COVID-19 Screening Tool for Workplaces (Ministry of Health)
COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan (Province of Ontario)
Sector-specific guidelines and posters (Province of Ontario)
COVID-19 Guidance: Essential Workplaces (Ministry of Health)
Preventing COVID-19 in the workplace: Employers, employees and essential service workers (Public Health Agency of Canada)
Risk mitigation tool for workplaces/businesses operating during the COVID-19 pandemic (Government of Canada)
Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19 (World Health Organization)
Guidance for Food Premises (Ministry of Health)
Guidance on COVID-19 screening (checklist) (Infrastructure Health & Safety Association)

Physical distancing

Physical Distancing (Public Health Ontario)

Personal Protective Equipment

Non-medical masks and face coverings (Government of Canada)
Video: How to wear a non-medical mask or face covering properly (Government of Canada)
Mask Use for Non-Healthcare Workers (Public Health Ontario)
Workplace PPE Supplier Directory (Province of Ontario)

Proper Hygiene and Cleaning

How to wash your hands/How to use hand sanitizer (Public Health Ontario)
Cleaning and Disinfection for Public Settings (Public Health Ontario)
Cleaning and disinfecting public spaces during COVID-19 (Public Health Agency of Canada)
COVID-19 Disinfectants, sanitizers, cleaners and soaps (Government of Canada)
Hard-surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers (COVID-19): List of disinfectants with evidence for use against COVID-19 (Government of Canada)