November 11, 2020

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• In today’s Recommendations for Industry, we explore TAG’s U.S. Risk Matrix. 44 states are in the Highest-Risk Quadrant. Twenty-four (24) states have a TPR greater than 10% and a case rate ≥ 25/100K people indicates testing may not be adequate to fully characterize the true severity of the outbreak in these states!

• Tomorrow, Thursday November 12, the FDA is hosting a presentation to provide an overview of FDA’s research to evaluate the ability of facial coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection and how the FDA is developing a comprehensive risk-assessment tool to predict the probability of infection with different types of masks. Register here.

• Global cases of COVID-19 have exceeded 51 million cases.

  • U.S. hospital cases are rising.

• The CDC’s recent highlight for “How to Protect Yourself & Others” highlights that “older adults and people who have certain underlying conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 illness”. As such, it is crucial to practice good personal hygiene, avoid close contact, wearing a mask over your nose and mouth when around others, clean and disinfect, and monitor your health daily.

  • Additionally, protect your health this flu season by getting a flu vaccine!

  • For a quick reference to identify if you might have COVID-19, the flu, the cold, or allergies, check out our recent infographic.  

• The CDC has also released new guidance for Celebrating Thanksgiving safely (to limit the spread of COVID-19 and the flu). As the holiday approaches, it is imperative to keep your business and workers safe.

  • Due to rising COVID-19 cases, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is to celebrate with people in your household. Consider hosting a virtual Thanksgiving for those who do not live with you! Or prepare traditional dishes and deliver the food to others in a way that does not involve contact with others.

  • If you are celebrating with others outside your household, take steps like wearing a mask, staying socially distant from others, and washing your hands.

  • Consider celebrating outdoors (if possible), or if celebrating indoors, “make sure to open windows”.

  • Limit the number of guests you have; additionally, limit the number of food-preparation individuals.

  • Get your flu shot!

• In Case You Missed It:

  • In Monday’s Recommendations for Industry, we discuss if a vaccine is coming soon and what you should know in the meantime!

  • On Friday’s Recommendations for Industry, we discuss the similarities and differences between COVID-19, the flu, the common cold, and allergies in a chart form!

    • This will be available for online download soon. However, if you want a copy now, please email Lily Yang (lily.yang@achesongroup.com).

  • Global cases of COVID-19, on Monday, exceeded 50 million cases.

  • OSHA has released new infographic guidance for “COVID-19 Guidance on Ventilation in the Workplace” [English] [Spanish]. Much of this guidance is parallel to what TAG has discussed previously and encouraged.

  • A recent CDC MMWR highlights teleworking's protective measures (or working from home) and not onsite. In fact, “adults who received positive test results for SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to report exclusively going to an office or school setting in the 2 weeks before illness onset.” This is compared to those who tested negative, even among those working in a profession outside of the critical infrastructure. These findings highlight the importance, even now, of “promot[ing] alternative work site options, such as teleworking, where possible, to reduce exposures to SARS-CoV-2. Where telework options are not feasible, worker safety measures should continue to be scaled up to reduce possible worksite exposures.”