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C ,� HSP-6 /1� Infectious Disease Response and Preparedness Plan ""°'"""'"° July 25, 2022 5.0 SAFETY PRECAUTIONS CDIM employees shall not perform work in environments where known COVID 19 exposure will occur e.g., hospitals, respiratory clinics, or otherwise. Improper use of masks or respirators decrease effectiveness. Respirator cartridges have a shelf life and a service life. 6.0 PROCEDURE 6.1 COVID 19 Signs, Symptoms and Transmission The symptoms of COVID 19 are wide-ranging. Common signs and symptoms of this illness include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. People may also experience gastro-intestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, as well as new loss of taste or smell. Some people may also experience no symptoms at all. In reported COVID 19 cases, the severity of the illness ranges from mild symptoms to death. The time from exposure to symptom onset ranges from two to 14 days. The virus can be spread from person- to-person, but it is unclear how easily COVID 19 is spreading between people at this time. It is believed to live for hours to days on hard surfaces. Four factors appear to play a role in how the virus is transmitted: how close you get to an infected person, how long you are near an infected person, whether or not that person projects viral droplets on you, and how much you touch your face. 6.2 Classifying Worker Exposure to COVID 19 The OSHA Guidance document provides information on classifying worker exposure to COVID 19 with four risk levels: Very High, High, Medium and Low. Most work performed by CDIM falls into the Low Risk categories. Medium Exposure Risk Jobs includes those that require frequent and/or close contact (within 6 feet of) people who may be infected with COVID 19, but who are not known or suspected COVID 19 patients. In areas where there is ongoing community transmission, workers in this category may have contact with the general public. Low Exposure Risk jobs are those that do not require contact with people known to be, or suspected of being, infected with COVID 19, nor frequent close contact with the general public. Workers in this category have minimal occupational contact with the public and other co-workers. 6.3 Personal Protective Equipment PPE is not required when working from home. CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community- based transmission. There is a severe shortage in respiratory PPE (n95 mask, surgical mask, and half-faced respirators/P100) in the United States. PPE may be required based on a job-specific PHSP. Additionally, the following PPE guidelines are established for any work outside the home: • Mask Wearing Guidelines o If employees are not fully vaccinated, they should wear a mask in indoor work and public places; o In general, employees do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings; however, in areas with high numbers of COVID 19 cases, they should consider wearing a mask in crowded