5/13/2020 Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers Responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), May 2020 | CDC

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers

Responding to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),
May 2020
Plan, Prepare and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019

Older adults and people who have severe underlying chronic medical CDC Industry Guidance
conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for
developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness. Resources for Airlines
Find more information here. Resources for the Ship Industry

Summary of Changes to the Guidance:

OSHA/HHS Guidance
Below are changes as of May 6, 2020
Guidance on Preparing
Workplaces for COVID-19 
Updated strategies and recommendations for employers responding to

COVID-19, including those seeking to resume normal or phased business
operations:
Conducting daily health checks
Conducting a hazard assessment of the workplace
Encouraging employees to wear cloth face coverings in the
workplace, if appropriate
Implementing policies and practices for social distancing in the
workplace
Improving the building ventilation system
A table outlining the engineering controls, administrative controls, and
personal protective equipment (PPE) that employers may use to help
prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace

Below are changes as of March 21, 2020

Updated cleaning and disinfection guidance

Updated best practices for conducting social distancing
Updated strategies and recommendations that can be implemented now
to respond to COVID-19

Purpose
This interim guidance is based on what is currently known about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 is a
respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The outbreak rst started in China, but the virus continues to
spread internationally and in the United States. There is much more to learn about the transmissibility, severity, and
other characteristics of COVID-19 and investigations are ongoing. Updates are available on CDC’s web page at
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/. CDC will update this interim guidance as additional information becomes
available.

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This interim guidance may help prevent workplace exposures to COVID-19 in non-healthcare settings (separate guidance
is available for healthcare settings). CDC has also provided guidance for critical infrastructure workers who may have had
exposure to a person known or suspected to have COVID-19. Unless otherwise speci ed, this interim guidance for
businesses and employers applies to critical infrastructure workplaces as well.

Role of Businesses and Employers in Responding to COVID-19

Businesses and employers can prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19 within the workplace. Employers should
respond in a way that takes into account the level of disease transmission in their communities and revise their business
response plans as needed. Employers should follow the White House Guidelines for Opening Up America Again  , a
phased approach based on current levels of transmission and healthcare capacity at the state or local level, as part of
resuming business operations. Business operation decisions should be based on both the level of disease transmission in
the community and your readiness to protect the safety and health of your employees and customers.

Businesses and employers are encouraged to coordinate with state  and local  health o cials to obtain timely and
accurate information to inform appropriate responses. Local conditions will in uence the decisions that public health
o cials make regarding community-level strategies. CDC has guidance for mitigation strategies  according to the level
of community transmission or impact of COVID-19.

As an employer, if your business operations were interrupted, resuming normal or phased activities presents an
opportunity to update your COVID-19 preparedness, response, and control plans. All employers should implement and
update as necessary a plan that:

Is speci c to your workplace,

identi es all areas and job tasks with potential exposures to COVID-19, and
includes control measures to eliminate or reduce such exposures.

Talk with your employees about planned changes and seek their input. Additionally, collaborate with employees and
unions to e ectively communicate important COVID-19 information.

See the OSHA COVID-19 guidance   for more information on how to protect workers from potential exposures,
according to their exposure risk. Plans should consider that employees may be able to spread COVID-19 even if they do
not show symptoms.

All employers need to consider how best to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and lower the impact in your workplace.
This should include activities to:

prevent and reduce transmission among employees,

maintain healthy business operations, and
maintain a healthy work environment.

Prevent and Reduce Transmission Among Employees

Monitor federal, state, and local public health communications about COVID-19 regulations, guidance, and
recommendations and ensure that workers have access to that information. Frequently check the CDC COVID-19 website.

Actively encourage sick employees to stay home:

Employees who have symptoms should notify their supervisor and stay home.
Sick employees should follow CDC-recommended steps. Employees should not return to work until the criteria to
discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with healthcare providers.
Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor and
follow CDC recommended precautions.

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Consider conducting daily in-person or virtual health checks (e.g., symptom and/or temperature screening) of employees
before they enter the facility, in accordance with state and local public health authorities and, if available, your
occupational health services:

If implementing in-person health checks, conduct them safely and respectfully. Employers may use social distancing,
barrier or partition controls, or personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect the screener. However, reliance on PPE
alone is a less e ective control and is more di cult to implement, given PPE shortages and training requirements.
See the “Should we be screening employees for COVID-19 symptoms?” section of General Business Frequently
Asked Questions as a guide.
Complete the health checks in a way that helps maintain social distancing guidelines, such as providing multiple
screening entries into the building.
Follow guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  regarding con dentiality of medical
records from health checks.
To prevent stigma and discrimination in the workplace, make employee health screenings as private as possible. Do
not make determinations of risk based on race or country of origin and be sure to maintain con dentiality of each
individual’s medical status and history.

Identify where and how workers might be exposed to COVID-19 at work. Employers are responsible for providing a safe
and healthy workplace  . Conduct a thorough hazard assessment  of the workplace to identify potential workplace
hazards related to COVID-19. Use appropriate combinations of controls from the hierarchy of controls to limit the spread
of COVID-19, including engineering controls, workplace administrative policies, and personal protective equipment (PPE)
to protect workers from the identi ed hazards (see table below):

Conduct a thorough hazard assessment to determine if workplace hazards are present, or are likely to be present, and
determine what type of controls or PPE are needed for speci c job duties.
When engineering and administrative controls cannot be implemented or are not fully protective, employers are
required by OSHA standards to:
Determine what PPE is needed for their workers’ speci c job duties,
Select and provide appropriate PPE to the workers at no cost, and
Train their workers on its correct use.
Encourage workers to wear a cloth face covering at work if the hazard assessment has determined that they do not
require PPE, such as a respirator or medical facemask for protection.
CDC recommends wearing a cloth face covering as a measure to contain the wearer’s respiratory droplets and
help protect their co-workers and members of the general public.
Cloth face coverings are not considered PPE. They may prevent workers, including those who don’t know they
have the virus, from spreading it to others but may not protect the wearers from exposure to the virus that
causes COVID-19.
Remind employees and customers that CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other
social distancing measures are di cult to maintain, especially in areas of signi cant community-based transmission.
Wearing a cloth face covering, however, does not replace the need to practice social distancing.
See the OSHA COVID-19  webpage for more information on how to protect workers from potential COVID-19
exposures and guidance for employers   , including steps to take for jobs according to exposure risk.

Separate sick employees:

Employees who appear to have symptoms upon arrival at work or who become sick during the day should
immediately be separated from other employees, customers, and visitors, and sent home.
Have a procedure in place for the safe transport of an employee who becomes sick while at work. The employee may
need to be transported home or to a healthcare provider.

Take action if an employee is suspected or con rmed to have COVID-19 infection:

In most cases, you do not need to shut down your facility. If it has been less than 7 days since the sick employee has been
in the facility, close o any areas used for prolonged periods of time by the sick person:

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Wait 24 hours before cleaning and disinfecting to minimize potential for other employees being exposed to
respiratory droplets. If waiting 24 hours is not feasible, wait as long as possible.
During this waiting period, open outside doors and windows to increase air circulation in these areas.

If it has been 7 days or more since the sick employee used the facility, additional cleaning and disinfection is not
necessary. Continue routinely cleaning and disinfecting all high-touch surfaces in the facility.

Follow the CDC cleaning and disinfection recommendations:

Clean dirty surfaces with soap and water before disinfecting them.
To disinfect surfaces, use products that meet EPA criteria for use against SARS-Cov-2  , the virus that causes COVID-
19, and are appropriate for the surface.
Always wear gloves and gowns appropriate for the chemicals being used when you are cleaning and disinfecting.
You may need to wear additional PPE depending on the setting and disinfectant product you are using. For each
product you use, consult and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use.

Determine which employees may have been exposed to the virus and may need to take additional precautions:

Inform employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but maintain con dentiality as required by
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)  .
Most workplaces should follow the Public Health Recommendations for Community-Related Exposure and instruct
potentially exposed employees to stay home for 14 days, telework if possible, and self-monitor for symptoms.
Critical infrastructure  workplaces should follow the guidance on Implementing Safety Practices for Critical
Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a Person with Suspected or Con rmed COVID-19. Employers
in critical infrastructure also have an obligation to manage potentially exposed workers’ return to work in ways that
best protect the health of those workers, their co-workers, and the general public.

Educate employees about steps they can take to protect themselves at work and at home:

Encourage employees to follow any new policies or procedures related to illness, cleaning and disinfecting, and work
meetings and travel.
Advise employees to:
Stay home if they are sick, except to get medical care, and to learn what to do if they are sick.
Inform their supervisor if they have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 and to learn what to do if someone
in their home is sick.
Wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or to use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
if soap and water are not available. Inform employees that if their hands are visibly dirty, they should use soap and
water over hand sanitizer. Key times for employees to clean their hands include:
Before and after work shifts
Before and after work breaks
After blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing
After using the restroom
Before eating or preparing food
After putting on, touching, or removing cloth face coverings
Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, or use the inside of their elbow. Throw used
tissues into no-touch trash cans and immediately wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and
water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol. Learn more about coughing and sneezing
etiquette on the CDC website.
Practice routine cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched objects and surfaces such as workstations, keyboards,
telephones, handrails, and doorknobs. Dirty surfaces can be cleaned with soap and water prior to disinfection. To
disinfect, use products that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2  , the cause of COVID-19, and are
appropriate for the surface.

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Avoid using other employees’ phones, desks, o ces, or other work tools and equipment, when possible. Clean and
disinfect them before and after use.
Practice social distancing by avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (at least 6 feet) from others when
possible.

For employees who commute to work using public transportation or ride sharing, consider o ering the following support:

O er employees incentives to use forms of transportation that minimize close contact with others, such as o ering
reimbursement for parking or single-occupancy ride shares.

Maintain Healthy
Allow employees Business
to shift their Operations
hours so they can commute during less busy times.
 Ask employees
Identify a workplacetocoordinator
clean their hands asbe
who will soon as possible
responsible forafter their trip.
COVID-19 issues and their impact at the workplace.

Implement exible sick leave and supportive policies and practices:

Ensure that sick leave policies are exible and consistent with public health guidance and that employees are aware of
and understand these policies.
Maintain exible policies that permit employees to stay home to care for a sick family member or take care of children
due to school and childcare closures. Additional exibilities might include giving advances on future sick leave and
allowing employees to donate sick leave to each other.
Employers that do not currently o er sick leave to some or all of their employees should consider drafting non-
punitive “emergency sick leave” policies.
Employers should not require a COVID-19 test result or a healthcare provider’s note for employees who are sick to
validate their illness, qualify for sick leave, or to return to work.
Under the American’s with Disabilities Act, employers are permitted to require a doctor’s note from your
employees  to verify that they are healthy and able to return to work. However, as a practical matter, be
aware that healthcare provider o ces and medical facilities may be extremely busy and not able to provide such
documentation in a timely manner. Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home
without medical care and can follow CDC recommendations to determine when to discontinue home isolation
and return to work.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has established guidance regarding Pandemic
Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act  . The guidance enables employers to
take steps to protect workers consistent with CDC guidance, including requiring workers to stay home when
necessary to address the direct threat of spreading COVID-19 to others.
Review human resources policies to make sure that your policies and practices are consistent with public health
recommendations and with existing state and federal workplace laws (for more information on employer
responsibilities, visit the Department of Labor’s  and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 
websites).
Connect employees to employee assistance program (EAP) resources, if available, and community resources as
needed. Employees may need additional social, behavioral, and other services, for example, to help them manage
stress and cope.

Protect employees at higher risk for severe illness through supportive policies and practices. Older adults and people of
any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

Support and encourage options to telework, if available.

Consider o ering vulnerable workers duties that minimize their contact with customers and other employees (e.g.,
restocking shelves rather than working as a cashier), if the worker agrees to this.
O er exible options such as telework to employees. This will eliminate the need for employees living in higher
transmission areas to travel to workplaces in lower transmission areas and vice versa.
Ensure that any other businesses and employers sharing the same workspace also follow this guidance.

Communicate supportive workplace polices clearly, frequently, and via multiple methods. Employers may need to
communicate with non-English speakers in their preferred languages.

Train workers on how implementing any new policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 may a ect existing health and
safety practices.

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Communicate to any contractors or on-site visitors about changes that have been made to help control the spread of
COVID-19. Ensure that they have the information and capability to comply with those policies.
Create and test communication systems that employees can use to self-report if they are sick and that you can use to
notify employees of exposures and closures.
Consider using a hotline or another method for employees to voice concerns anonymously.

Assess your essential functions and the reliance that others and the community have on your services or products.

Be prepared to change your business practices, if needed, to maintain critical operations (e.g., identify alternative
suppliers, prioritize existing customers, or temporarily suspend some of your operations).
Identify alternate supply chains for critical goods and services. Some goods and services may be in higher demand or
unavailable.
If other companies provide your business with contract or temporary employees, talk with them about the importance
of sick employees staying home and encourage them to develop non-punitive leave policies.
Talk with business partners about your response e orts. Share best practices with other businesses in your
communities (especially those in your supply chain), chambers of commerce, and associations to improve community
response e orts.
When resuming onsite business operations, identify and prioritize job functions for continuous operations. Minimize
the number of workers present at worksites by resuming business operations in phases, balancing the need to protect
workers with support for continuing operations.

Determine how you will operate if absenteeism spikes from increases in sick employees, those who stay home to care for
sick family members, and those who must stay home to watch their children until childcare programs and K-12 schools
resume.

Plan to monitor and respond to absenteeism at the workplace.

Implement plans to continue your essential business functions in case you experience higher-than-usual absenteeism.
Prepare to institute exible workplace and leave policies.
Cross-train employees to perform essential functions so the workplace can operate even if key employees are absent.

Establish policies and practices for social distancing. Alter your workspace to help workers and customers maintain social
distancing and physically separate employees from each other and from customers, when possible. Here are some
strategies that businesses can use:

Implement exible worksites (e.g., telework).

Implement exible work hours (e.g., rotate or stagger shifts to limit the number of employees in the workplace at the
same time).
Increase physical space between employees at the worksite by modifying the workspace.
Increase physical space between employees and customers (e.g., drive-through service, physical barriers such as
partitions).
Use signs, tape marks, or other visual cues such as decals or colored tape on the oor, placed 6 feet apart, to indicate
where to stand when physical barriers are not possible.
Implement exible meeting and travel options (e.g., postpone non-essential meetings or events in accordance with
state and local regulations and guidance).
Close or limit access to common areas where employees are likely to congregate and interact.
Prohibit handshaking.
Deliver services remotely (e.g., phone, video, or web).
Adjust your business practices to reduce close contact with customers — for example, by providing drive-through
service, click-and-collect online shopping, shop-by-phone, curbside pickup, and delivery options, where feasible.
Move the electronic payment terminal/credit card reader farther away from the cashier, if possible, to increase the
distance between the customer and the cashier.
Shift primary stocking activities to o -peak or after hours, when possible, to reduce contact with customers.

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If you have more than one business location, consider giving local managers the authority to take appropriate actions
outlined in their COVID-19 response plans based on their local conditions.

Maintain a healthy work environment

Since COVID-19 may be spread by those with no symptoms, businesses and employers should evaluate and institute
controls according to the hierarchy of controls to protect their employees and members of the general public.

Consider improving the engineering controls using the building ventilation system. This may include some or all of the
following activities:

Increase ventilation rates.

Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and provide acceptable indoor air quality for the current occupancy level
for each space.
Increase outdoor air ventilation, using caution in highly polluted areas. With a lower occupancy level in the building,
this increases the e ective dilution ventilation per person.
Disable demand-controlled ventilation (DCV).
Further open minimum outdoor air dampers (as high as 100%) to reduce or eliminate recirculation. In mild weather,
this will not a ect thermal comfort or humidity. However, this may be di cult to do in cold or hot weather.
Improve central air ltration to the MERV-13 or the highest compatible with the lter rack, and seal edges of the lter
to limit bypass.
Check lters to ensure they are within service life and appropriately installed.
Keep systems running longer hours, 24/7 if possible, to enhance air exchanges in the building space.

Note: Some of the above recommendations are based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Guidance for Building Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic  . Review these
ASHRAE guidelines for further information on ventilation recommendations.

Ensure the safety of your building water system and devices after a prolonged shutdown:

Follow the CDC Guidance for Building Water Systems, which describes 8 steps to take before you reopen your
business or building.

Give employees, customers, and visitors what they need to clean their hands and cover their coughs and sneezes:

Provide tissues and no-touch trash cans.

Provide soap and water in the workplace. If soap and water are not readily available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer
that is at least 60% alcohol. Ensure that adequate supplies are maintained.
Ideally, place touchless hand sanitizer stations in multiple locations to encourage hand hygiene.
Place posters that encourage hand hygiene to help stop the spread at the entrance to your workplace and in other
workplace areas where they are likely to be seen. This should include signs for non-English speakers, as needed.
Discourage handshaking. Encourage employees to use other noncontact methods of greeting.
Direct employees to visit CDC’s coughing and sneezing etiquette and clean hands webpage for more information.

Perform routine cleaning:

Follow the Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting to develop, implement, and maintain a plan to perform regular
cleanings to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces in the workplace, such as workstations, keyboards, telephones,
handrails, and doorknobs.
If surfaces are dirty, clean them using a detergent or soap and water before you disinfect them.
For disinfection, most common, EPA-registered, household disinfectants should be e ective. A list of products
that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19  is available on the EPA website. Follow

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the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., concentration, application
method, and contact time).
Discourage workers from using each other’s phones, desks, o ces, or other work tools and equipment, when
possible.
Provide disposable disinfecting wipes so that employees can wipe down commonly used surfaces (e.g., doorknobs,
keyboards, remote controls, desks, other work tools and equipment) before each use.
Store and use disinfectants in a responsible and appropriate manner according to the label.
Do not mix bleach or other cleaning and disinfection products together. This can cause fumes that could be very
dangerous to breathe in.
Advise employees to always wear gloves appropriate for the chemicals being used when they are cleaning and
disinfecting and that they may need additional PPE based on the setting and product.

Perform enhanced cleaning and disinfection after persons suspected/con rmed to have COVID-19 have been in the
facility:

If a sick employee is suspected or con rmed to have COVID-19, follow the CDC cleaning and disinfection
recommendations.

Limit travel and advise employees if they must travel to take additional precautions and preparations:

Minimize non-essential travel and consider resuming non-essential travel in accordance with state and local
regulations and guidance.
Check the CDC’s Traveler’s Health Notices for the latest guidance and recommendations for each country where you
will travel. Speci c travel information for travelers going to and returning from countries with travel advisories, and
information for aircrew, can be found on the CDC website.
Advise employees to check themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 before starting travel and to notify their supervisor
and stay home if they are sick.
Ensure employees who become sick while traveling or on temporary assignment understand that they should notify
their supervisor and promptly call a healthcare provider for advice if needed.
If they are outside the United States, sick employees should follow company policy for obtaining medical care or
contact a healthcare provider or overseas medical assistance company to help them nd an appropriate healthcare
provider in that country. A U.S. consular o cer can help locate healthcare services. However, U.S. embassies,
consulates, and military facilities do not have the legal authority, capability, or resources to evacuate or give
medicines, vaccines, or medical care to private U.S. citizens overseas.

Minimize risk to employees when planning meetings and gatherings:

Use videoconferencing or teleconferencing when possible for work-related meetings and gatherings.
Cancel, adjust, or postpone large work-related meetings or gatherings that can only occur in-person in accordance
with state and local regulations and guidance.
When videoconferencing or teleconferencing is not possible, hold meetings in open, well-ventilated spaces continuing
to maintain a distance of 6 feet apart and wear cloth face coverings.

The table below presents examples of controls to implement in your workplace. The most e ective controls are those
that rely on engineering solutions, followed by administrative controls, then PPE. PPE is the least e ective control method
and the most di cult to implement. Worksites may have to implement multiple complementary controls from these
columns to e ectively control the hazard.

Employers: Use the table below to implement the most

appropriate controls for your workplace
TABLE: Example Controls to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Work Environments

Engineering Administrative Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

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Facilities and Equipment Management and Communications PPE

Assess job hazards for Monitor state and local public health Conduct workplace hazard
feasibility of communications about COVID-19 assessment
engineering controls Encourage sick workers to report Determine what PPE is needed
Ensure ventilation and symptoms, stay home, and follow CDC for their workers’ speci c job
water systems operate guidance duties based on hazards and
properly Develop strategies to: other controls present
Alter workspaces to manage worker concerns Select and provide appropriate
maintain social communicate with workers PPE to the workers at no cost.
distancing. Examples
Remind workers of available support
include:
services
Con gure
partitions as a Communicate to partners, suppliers,
barrier shield other contractors on policies and
practices
Move electronic
payment reader Encourage social distancing and the
away from cashier use of cloth face coverings (if
appropriate) in the workplace
Use verbal
announcements, Use technology to promote social
signage, and visual distancing (e.g., telework and virtual
cues to promote meetings)
social distancing Cancel group events
Remove/rearrange Close/limit use of shared spaces
furniture
Ask customers who are ill to stay
Provide remote home
shopping
Consider policies that encourage
alternatives (e.g.,
exible sick leave and alternative work
delivery, pick-up)
schedules.
Schedule stocking during o -peak
hours

Cleaning and Disinfection

Clean and disinfect frequently touched

surfaces, (e.g., counters, shelving,
displays)
Provide employees with disposable
disinfectant wipes, cleaner, or sprays
that are e ective against the virus that
causes COVID-19

Training

Provide employees with training on:

Policies to reduce the spread of

COVID-19
General hygiene
Symptoms, what to do if sick
Cleaning and disinfection
Cloth face covers
Social distancing
Use of PPE
Safe work practices

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Stress management

Resources for more information:

CDC Guidance
COVID-19 Website
Business and Workplaces webpage
General Business Frequently Asked Questions
Small Business
Transportation and Delivery
What You Need to Know About COVID-19
What to Do If You Are Sick With COVID-19
What Workers and Employers Can Do to Manage Workplace Fatigue during COVID-19
People at Higher Risk of Severe Illness
Public Health Recommendations for Community-Related Exposures
Public Health Recommendations after Travel-Associated COVID-19 Exposure
Health Alert Network
Travelers’ Health Website
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Small Business International Travel Resource Travel Planner

Managing Workplace Fatigue

Other Federal Agencies and Partners

OSHA COVID-19 Website 

OSHA Guidance for Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19  

Page last reviewed: May 5, 2020

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