A Guide To COVID-19 Testing For Small Businesses
Organizations are in a unique situation, seeking to keep their doors open while ensuring the stability of employees and consumers.
Beyond the use of masks, physical distancing, and periodic cleaning and removal, many want to master regular testing of their employees. However, discovering and assimilating the information available on how to do this well can be overwhelming, especially if a small organization owner is going it alone.
Labcorp wants to help by sharing the latest information from major health agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on workplace covid-19 testing in one place. We offer guidance in this area.
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July 2022
Understanding COVID-19 and Testing Options
As an organization owner, there are many questions you must answer before you can produce your test program, which starts with obtaining reliable information to make good decisions.
How does COVID-19 spread?
OSHA gives the following information in its Guidance for Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of Covid-19 in the Workplace.
Covid-19 is a highly infectious disease most commonly spread by respiratory droplets and particles produced once an infected person exhales, speaks, vocalizes, sneezes or coughs. Covid-19 is highly transmissible and could be extended by people who show no signs. Particles with the virus in them have the potential to travel well over 2 meters, especially indoors, and have the potential to be spread by people who do not know they remain infected.
The following chart compares the three primary types of covid-19 tests. All of them can tell you different things about your covid-19 status.
Creating a Workplace Testing Program
Several components go into building the right test program for your business. What is suitable for a restaurant might differ from what is ideal for a bookstore. Below are several helpful questions to think about when building a test program:
– What type of test is right for my company?
-Current infection: PCR or Antigen Infection
– What impact could a positive or negative result have on the employee and my company?
-Could employees be required to quarantine themselves? Individual results will be shared with local and state health officials
-How often do employees need to be tested?
-How will employees consent to testing?
-What happens if an employee refuses to submit to testing?
-Who pays for the test (the employee or the employer)?
-Will the results be shared with me directly as the employer?
– What steps can I take to ensure employee privacy?
Communicating to Employees About Testing Options
Transparency with employees about your goals and objectives will help make your testing project successful.
Here are ten useful tips from CDC to help you communicate to employees the steps you are taking to keep them safe throughout the pandemic.
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