What School Nutrition Professionals and Volunteers at Schools Need to Know about COVID-19
What steps should my employer take?
Employers should have a COVID-19 response plan to protect employees, following
CDC Interim Guidance for Businesses and
Employers. This plan should be shared with you and your
coworkers. Employers should:
Reduce transmission among employees

Take steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 if an employee is sick. 
Actively encourage sick employees to stay home.
Sick employees diagnosed with COVID-19 shouldn’t return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with healthcare providers and state and localexternal icon health departments.


Provide employees with accurate information about COVID-19, how it spreads, and risk of exposure.
Be aware that some employees may be at higher risk for severe illness, such as older adults and those with serious underlying medical conditions. Implement specific policies to minimize face-to-face contact between these employees or assign work tasks that allow them to maintain a distance of six feet from other workers, customers and visitors, or to telework if possible.
Provide training to employees on proper hand washing practices and other routine preventative measures. This will help prevent the spread of many diseases, including COVID-19.
Provide employees with access to soap, clean running water, and materials for drying their hands, and provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol at stations around the establishment for use by both workers and customers.

Maintain a healthy work environment


Institute measures to physically separate and increase distance between employees, volunteers, other coworkers, students, and their families, such as:



Plan menus, production, and food preparation schedules to allow employees to maintain the recommended social distance of 6 feet while working when possible.



Use tape to mark 6-foot workstations (boxes or stripes on the floor) in the kitchen, food service, and food delivery points where interactions with students or their families occur, if possible.


Implement a plan for curbside pickup of meals or contactless delivery service (if possible) to minimize contacts with students and their families, when possible. When not possible, encourage employees to wear cloth face coverings.


Place posters that encourage staying home when sick, cough and sneeze etiquette, and good hand hygiene in the school, at entrances, and where they are likely to be seen.

Provide tissues and no-touch disposal receptacles for use by employees, volunteers and customers.
Clean, sanitize, and disinfect frequently touched surfaces often. If the surfaces are visibly dirty, clean them prior to disinfecting. To disinfect, use products that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2external icon, diluted household bleach solutions prepared according to the manufacturer’s label for disinfection, or alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, and are appropriate for the surface. Follow manufacturer’s directions for use. 
Conduct frequent cleaning of entrances, employee break rooms, rest areas, and other common areas, focusing on surfaces and objects that are touched by multiple people.


Provide disposable disinfectant wipes, cleaners, or sprays that are effective against COVID-19 so employees can wipe down frequently touched surfaces such as food service work areas in kitchens, cafeterias, door handles, tables, and countertops, and in outside distribution areas.
Follow all applicable local, state, and federal regulations and public health agency guidelines.

Maintain healthy business operations

Designate a person who is responsible for responding to COVID-19 concerns. Employees should know who this person is and how to contact them.
Implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices. Consider drafting non-punitive emergency sick leave policies if sick leave is not offered to some or all employees. Employers should not require a positive COVID-19 test result or a healthcare provider’s note for employees who are sick to validate their illness, qualify for sick leave, or to return to work.
Provide information on who to contact if employees become sick. If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19 infection, employers should inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).