Urgent Action Required: Employers Must Revise COVID-19-Related Safety Policies and Practices to Meet New CDC Guidelines

The CDC has updated its guidance regarding COVID-19 transmission and what it means to be in “close contact” with an infected person. Most employers are going to need to make immediate changes to their COVID-19 safety practices and procedures to comply, and I’m not going to lie,  it’s not going to make things any easier on you.

As we are all too aware at this point, being in “close contact” with another person infected with COVID-19 exposes that individual to a heightened risk of infection. Previously, the CDC defined “close contact” as being within six feet of distance to an infected person for at least 15 consecutive minutes. If an employee was infected with COVID-19, you, as the employer, could somewhat easily contact trace to determine which, if any, other employees were within six feet of distance from that infected employee for 15 consecutive minutes or longer during the two days prior to the onset of that employee’s illness. Those employees at heightened risk of infection based on prolonged exposure could be sent home to self-isolate and seek a diagnosis. Unfortunately, based on the most recent science, this is about to get a lot more complicated.

New evidence demonstrates that COVID-19 can be passed in much shorter interactions than previously believed; therefore, the CDC has expanded the definition of “close contact” to reflect recent findings. Per the new definition of “close contact,” someone who was within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from two days before the onset of illness (or, if asymptomatic, a positive test result or their isolation) is at a heightened risk of infection based on exposure. Employees meeting this definition of “close contact” should be sent home to self-isolate for 14 days after exposure. 

Breaking this down:

• Cumulative total of up to 15 minutes or more

• Over 24-hours

• Within 6 feet of distance

• During the 2 days before the infected employee’s illness onset, positive test, or isolation

The new guidance requires a shift from looking at consecutive times of exposure to cumulative time. For example, this means that an employee who had three separate interactions (within 6 feet of distance) over the course of a day with an infected person, or persons, of five minutes each, would qualify as having a heightened risk based on exposure. This broader definition is going to have a big impact on most workplaces where individuals have multiple short interactions with others throughout the day, totaling 15 minutes or more cumulatively.

Employers need to take the following actions immediately:

• Update your COVID-related policies for contact tracing and isolating employees after exposure to meet the new definition based on cumulative exposure time;

• Update your safety practices and oversight of execution. Even short periods of contact within six feet of distance must be avoided - not just interactions of 15 minutes or longer; 

• Determine whether an employee has been exposed to an infected worker for 15 minutes or more. Employers will now need to look at brief interactions between employees and infected workers that may occur several times a day instead of just one or two prolonged exposures; 

• Send employees who have a heightened risk of exposure under this analysis home to isolate and self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days from the date of exposure; 

• Increase education and monitoring with regard to social distancing. Make sure your employees know that a few minutes here and there constitutes “close contact” and that their risk of exposure is cumulative over the course of 24-hours - not limited to interactions of 15 or more consecutive minutes;

• Enforce the wearing of face masks with employees and customers. While this does not eliminate the risk of infection, it will decrease the probability that the cumulative impact of multiple short exposures will result in someone contracting COVID-19

Almost every business is going to feel some impact from this change (Critical infrastructure businesses will be impacted less as the exceptions for isolation of exposed employees remain in effect as before).  Employers need to be prepared and plan ahead. More employees will be required to quarantine under this new rule, which could greatly impact staffing levels and availability. 

Additionally, employers will likely need to spend a little bit more time contact tracing following an infection, such as watching surveillance video and reviewing other documents and resources to identify employee interactions meeting this new definition. An infected employee is not likely to be able to identify every short interaction they’ve had during the previous 48 hours. The new definition may also increase the number of employee infections subject to OSHA reporting and record keeping requirements. 

Don’t forget that the CDC also updated its guidance earlier this month to indicate that COVID-19 can spread through “airborne transmission” to people who are more than 6 feet away under certain conditions, particularly indoors in poorly ventilated areas. This update should remain a top priority while revamping your COVID-19 safety policies and procedures as we head into the winter months and will be spending significantly more time indoors. 

Ain’t 2020 fun, y’all?