The U.S. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an alert listing safety tips employers can follow to help protect workers from exposure to Covid-19.
Measures that can help protect employees working in construction include:
- Encouraging workers to stay home if they are sick
- Training workers how to properly put on, use/wear, and take off protective clothing and equipment
- Allowing workers to wear masks over their nose and mouth to prevent them from spreading the virus
- Continuing to use other normal control measures, including personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Advising workers to avoid physical contact with others and directing employees/contractors/visitors to increase personal space to at least six feet, where possible. Where work trailers are used, all workers should maintain social distancing while inside the trailers
- Promoting personal hygiene. If workers do not have immediate access to soap and water for hand washing, provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol
- Using Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus
- Encouraging workers to report any safety and health concerns.
OSHA has also published Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, a document aimed at helping workers and employers learn about ways to protect themselves and their workplaces
