Key Points

November 16, 2020

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• In today’s Recommendations for Industry, we answer the question: How Risky is International – and Domestic – Travel Today?

• OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor have issued Guidance Alerting Employers to Frequently Cited Standards Related to COVID-19 Inspections. The most frequently cited standards and requirements for employers to follow include:

  • Providing a medical evaluation before a worker is fit-tested or uses a respirator.

  • Establishing, implementing, and updating a written respiratory protection program with required worksite-specific procedures.

  • Training workers to safely use respirators and/or other PPE in the workplace, and retrain workers about changes in the workplace that might make previous training obsolete.

  • Storing respirators and other PPE properly in a way to protect them from damage, contamination, and, where applicable, deformation of the facepiece and exhalation valve.

  • Keeping required records of work-related fatalities, injuries, and illness.

• OSHA is also providing upated guidance for Holiday Workplace Safety. There is guidance for those in Retail Sales, for Delivery, and for Order Fulfillment.

• This winter season, protect yourself and your family from fraudulent flu or antiviral products. Like with COVID-19, there are no legally marketed over-the-counter drugs to prevent to prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure the flu. The FDA advises that the flu vaccine is the best prevention against the influenza and its serious complications. 

• China continues to report the presence of coronavirus on imported food products and packagingof shrimp, fish, beef, and pork. However, guidance from World Health Organization and other organizations continue to indicate that it is highly unlikely that people can contract COVID-19 from food or food packaging. Read the news from Food Safety News. 

• In Case You Missed It:

  • In last Friday’s Recommendations for Industry we explored testing and When and What COVID Tests Facilities Should Conduct.

  • Also last week:

    • OSHA has released new infographic guidance for “COVID-19 Guidance on Ventilation in the Workplace” [English] [Spanish], much of which follows that which TAG has previously discussed and encouraged.

    • CDC MMWR highlighted the protective measures of working from home, stating, “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 highlights the importance, even now, of promoting alternative work site options where possible. Where not feasible, worker safety measures should continue to be scaled up.

    • A CDC publication “How to Protect Yourself & Others” stated 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.” This emphasizes the crucial need to continue to practice good personal hygiene, avoid close contact, wear a mask, clean and disinfect, monitor your health daily, and get 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.  

    • CDC has released new guidance for Celebrating Thanksgiving safely (to limit the spread of COVID-19 and the flu), noting that the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is to do so with people in your household. If you are celebrating with others outside your household, take steps like wearing a mask, staying socially distant, and washing your hands; consider celebrating outdoors, if not possible, open windows; and limit the number of guests and number of food-preparation individuals.