Guidance for Businesses and Workplaces

Returning to work following COVID-19 illness

• Generally test-based clearance for return to work is not recommended, unless for early return to work in highest-risk settings during critical work shortages.
  • Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19 in Ontario (version 14.2), June 2, 2022 (PDF) - Ontario Ministry of Health
• Workers who are confirmed cases or isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms are not required to provide proof of a negative test result (by NAAT) or a positive serological test result to their employers in order to return to work. It is expected that workers who have tested positive abide by public health direction and advice on when they would be considered clear to return to work.
• Employers do have the ability to create their own policies with regard to return from work after sick leave with COVID-19, legal council is recommended to review such policies
• Employers are also urged to discontinue the requirement for sick notes during COVID-19 to reduce the unnecessary burden on the health care system at this time.

What to do if there has been a COVID-19 exposure in the workplace

Follow the What to do if an employee has COVID-19 workplace checklist (PDF) for next steps.

COVID-19 vaccine information for employers

By promoting vaccination in your workplace can:

• Reduce employee absences due to illness and ensure sustained workplace productivity
• Keep the workforce healthy by preventing employees from getting COVID-19
• Boost workplace morale

Employers have an important role to play in building vaccine confidence among employees in the workplace.

Employers are well placed to facilitate conversations about vaccines because of their position of leadership and  existing relationships with staff. Facilitating conversations and giving employees the opportunity to share their concern about vaccines can help increase vaccine literacy, identify barriers to vaccination, and help employees know what to expect before and after getting their vaccine. KFL&A Public Health encourages employers to consult Ontario's toolkit, the COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs webpage, and the other resources highlighted below to become familiar with how to respond to some common concerns.

• Ontario COVID-19 Vaccinations Workplace Vaccination Policy Toolkit - Province of Ontario

• Training and Education Material - KHSC Kingston Health Sciences Centre (kingstonhsc.ca)
• After vaccinations how employers can help keep COVID-19 in check at work (PDF) - Province of Ontario
• COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Template - Public Health Sudbury and Districts
• COVID-19: Vaccine Information for Employers – City of Toronto

 Cleaning and disinfection in the workplace

• Environmental cleaning is the cleaning of frequently used surfaces in the common and shared areas in workplaces. Effective cleaning reduces the risk of spreading infection through touching contaminated surfaces.
• Increase the frequency of cleaning to at least twice a day, especially high touch surfaces such as:
  • desks
  • phones
  • break room counters, tables and chairs, and appliances
  • cash registers
  • common area door handles and railings
  • elevator buttons
  • common area furniture
  • toilets
  • light switches
• High touch zones should be cleaned first to remove visible dirt, then disinfected.
• If items cannot be easily cleaned (e.g., newspapers, magazines, stuffed toys), it is recommended to perform hand hygiene more frequently (i.e., before and after handling the item).

Environmental cleaning in non-health care settings

Most non-healthcare settings only require routine cleaning and not disinfection. Clean touched surfaces twice daily.

If you want to disinfect surfaces, use an off-the-shelf disinfectant according to the instructions on the label and follow Public Health Ontario’s directions for cleaning and disinfection of public settings. If you have no access to a disinfectant product, you can dilute household bleach by pouring 20 mL into 1 litre of tap water (1000ppm of Sodium Hypochlorite solution). The surface must remain wet for 10 minutes to achieve disinfection. The bleach solution may damage fabric, corrode metal, and destroy adhesives with prolonged soaking. Mix a fresh solution daily. Do not mix the bleach solution with any other cleaner or disinfectant. To find the correct dilution ratio, check out the dilution calculator from Public Health Ontario.

Environmental cleaning in clinical settings

The Public Health Agency of Canada has developed the following guidance related to environmental cleaning of clinical settings during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

What to do

• Increase frequency of cleaning of high-touch surfaces to control the spread of microorganisms during a respiratory infection outbreak, such as COVID-19.

What to use:

• Environmental cleaning products registered in Canada with a Drug Identification Number (DIN) and labelled as a ‘broad-spectrum virucide’ are sufficient to destroy SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

What to clean and when

• All surfaces, especially those that are horizontal and frequently touched, should be cleaned at least twice daily and when soiled.

Other considerations

• Follow your ‘terminal cleaning’ protocol for cleaning of a patient's room after discharge, transfer or discontinuation of contact and droplet precautions. For more information, review Appendix 6 in Best practices for environmental cleaning for prevention and control of infections in all health care settings (third edition) - Public Health Ontario
• Ensure rooms have minimal equipment or supplies to help facilitate the environmental cleaning process.
• Amenities that are open to the public (e.g., washrooms, change rooms, showers) must be cleaned a minimum of twice daily and more frequently if needed, and disinfected frequently.

Resources

• O. Reg 364/20 Rules for areas in Step 3 and at the Roadmap exit step - Government of Ontario

• COVID-19: public health and workplace safety measures

• A Public Health Inspector Shows You How to Wash Your Hands - (video) - KFL&A Public Health