Questions relating to food businesses
What is the protocol when an employee working in a food business becomes ill with COVID-19?
Staff who are feeling unwell should not report to work and should seek medical
advice. However, in the event that a food worker becomes unwell in the
workplace with typical symptoms of COVID-19, they should be removed to an area
away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be
isolated behind a closed door, such as a staff office. If it is possible to
open a window, do so for ventilation. Arrangements should be made for the
unwell employee to be removed quickly from the food premise.
The employee who is unwell should follow national guidelines for reporting
cases/suspect cases of COVID-19. Whilst they wait for medical advice or to be
sent home, they should avoid any contact with other employees. They should
avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their
mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the
tissue in a bag or pocket and then dispose of the tissue in a bin. If they do
not have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of
their elbow. If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical
assistance, they should use a separate bathroom, if available.
All surfaces that the infected employee has come into contact with must be
cleaned. Alcohol based sanitizers/surface disinfectants should be used for
cleaning purposes. In general, alcohol-based disinfectants (ethanol,
propan-2-ol, propan-1-ol) have been shown to significantly reduce infectivity
of enveloped viruses like COVID-19 virus, in concentrations of 70-80%. Common
disinfectants with active ingredients based on quaternary ammonium compounds
(QUATS) and chlorine would also have virucidal properties. All staff should
wash their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with soap and water after any
contact with someone who is unwell with symptoms consistent with coronavirus
infection.
If an employee is confirmed as a case of COVID-19 it will be necessary to
notify all close contacts of the infected employee so they too can take
measures to minimise further risk of spread. WHO definitions of a contact of a
COVID-19 case can be found here. Examples of
contacts in the food businesses could include any employee who was in face-to-
face or physical (i.e., touching) contact; any employee who was within 1 meter
with the confirmed case; anyone who has cleaned up any bodily fluids without
adequate PPE (e.g. gloves, overalls, protective clothing); employees in the
same working team or workgroup as the confirmed case, and any employee living
in the same household as a confirmed case.
WHO recommends that contacts be quarantined for 14 days from the last
point of exposure to the confirmed case.22 At a minimum, staff who have had
close contact with the infected employee should be asked to stay at home for
14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case and
practice physical distancing. If they become unwell at any time within their
14-day isolation period and they test positive for COVID-19, they will become
a confirmed case, and should be managed as such.
Staff who have not had close contact with the original confirmed case should
continue taking the usual precautions and attend work as usual. Organising
employees into small teams or workgroups will help to minimise disruption to
work processes in the event of an employee reporting sick with symptoms of
COVID-19. Closure of the workplace is not recommended.
More detailed information can be found in COVID-19 and food safety: guidance
for food
businesses.
For more information on contacts of COVID-19 confirmed cases, see WHO
guidance on surveillance and case definitions.