OSHA Gives Guidance To Employers Regarding Coronavirus. Broadway Is Dark. Disneyland Will Close.
By Lonce Lamonte - March 12, 2020
OSHA, or Occupational Safety and Health Administration, gave guidance on March 9th, Monday, 2020 to help employers prepare their workplaces for an outbreak of the Coronavirus.
OSHA stated that any incidents of employees contracting the novel coronavirus at work are recordable illnesses, subject to the same rules and failure-to-record fines as other workplace injuries and illnesses.
OSHA exempts employers from recording incidents of employees contracting common colds and the flu in the workplace, but the Coronavirus is not exempt from recording and reporting. OSHA communicated on their new website information about preventing and containing the Coronavirus, most significant amongst the advisories being frequent hand-washing.
The guidance, while not a standard or regulation, outlines safety standards that employers whose workers are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus should implement to remain in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s general duty clause.
The report also advises employers to develop an infectious disease preparedness and response plan, implement basic infection prevention measures and develop policies for the identification and isolation of ill individuals.
800 people have died of the Coronavirus in Italy and more than 10,000 people are ill in this country of 60 million people. Now Italy is on lock-down. The heaviest hit area is in the north. Two travelers came in with the coronavirus from Wuhan, China. They were then isolated. Further flights from China were then banned.
The United States has a population of 327 million people, presently, and 37 persons have died, thus far, in the U.S. At least 437 coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the U.S., including about 90 in California. Worldwide, more than 107,000 people have been infected and more than 3,600 have died.
Actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, who are both 63 years old and therefore in the higher risk population, have tested positive for the virus. They have been in Australia.
It took two days for the Grand Princess cruise ship to disembark all of its passengers at Oakland port. President Trump has banned travel from 26 European countries.
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) has cancelled March Madness. MLB (Major League Baseball) and NHL (National Hockey League) postponed their seasons and Broadway has gone dark. Disneyland will close.
lonce@adjustercom.com, Lonce Lamonte, journalist; copyright adjustercom and Lonce Lamonte, all rights reserved
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