Public health recommendations on keeping employees and customers safe:

A new virus, COVID-19 (formerly referred to as 2019-nCoV) not previously seen in humans, has been reported as the cause of several pneumonia cases originating in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 is a unique strain of a common virus that is responsible for many colds and respiratory infections. Symptoms of this illness have ranged from mild to severe illness and include fever, new or worsening cough, difficulty breathing and pneumonia.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) is working closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Health Ontario, the Ministry of Health and our community partners to monitor and respond to this situation.
Your role as an employer is to help manage the spread of COVID-19 in our community is critical to reduce opportunities for transmission.
Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, is asking “all employers in Ontario to facilitate virtual work arrangements to enable employees to work from home where possible, to enable workers to limit their activities, care for children and to self isolate.” For those workplaces where this is not possible, it is advised “ that those employers use their judgement to sustain operations in a manner that maintains social distancing.”

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health has developed an Employer Role In COVID 19 package for workplaces.  It contains resources on how to keep your workpalce safe.  Please continue to check for updates to the package at the same link.  Thank you for doing your part to keep yourself, your employees, vendors and clients safe during this time.

How to keep your employees and customers safe:
1. Review the HPEPH Workplace Outbreak Preparedness Checklist.
2. Post signage on entrance doors.
Attention Visitor Signage - Government of Ontario
STOP Signage - HPEPH
3. Provide alcohol-based hand sanitizer at least 70% at the entrance doors (highly recommended).
4. Actively screen all employees and vendors upon arrival to the workplace each day by having them complete this self assessment. In addition, encourage employees and vendors to complete the same self assessment prior to attending the workplace.
5. Practice social distancing.
6. Clean and disinfect workplace following Public Health Ontario Cleaning and Disinfection for Public Settings factsheet.
Please be aware that COVID-19 information is updated daily on our website at hpePublicHealth.ca.

If you have other questions, please contact the Information Line for COVID-19 613-966-5500 or 1-800-267-2803.

*Note – This line is currently answered by public health staff 7 days a week between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm. Please be patient and use this line only if you are unable to answer your questions with the resources available online. Callers may have to wait for their call to be answered due to high call volumes.