Guidelines on preventive measures to contain spread of COVID-19 in workplace

There is a need to prevent importation of infection in workplace and to respond in a timely and
effective manner in case suspect case of COVID-19 is detected, so as to limit the spread of infection.

Scope

(i) Basic preventive measures to be followed at all times

(ii) Measures specific to offices
(iii) Measures to be taken on occurrence of case(s)
(iv) Misinfection procedures to be implemented in case of occurrence of suspect/confirmed case.

Basic preventive measures

i. Physical distancing of at least one meter to be followed at all times.

ii. Use of face covers/masks to be mandatory.
iii. Practice frequent hand washing (for at least 40-60 seconds) even when hands are not visibly dirty
and use of alcohol based hand sanitizers (for at least 20 seconds).
iv. Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. Strict practice of covering one’s mouth and nose
while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used tissues
properly.
v. Self-monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest

Preventive measures for offices

 Any staff reportedly suffering from flu-like illness should not attend office and seek medical
advice from local health authorities.
 Such persons, if diagnosed as a suspect/confirmed case of COVID-19 should immediately
inform the office authorities.
 Any staff requesting home quarantine based on the containment zone activities in their
residential areas should be permitted to work from home.

Do's

• To maintain personal hygiene and physical distancing.

• To practice frequent hand washing. Wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based
hand rub. Wash hands even if they are visibly clean.
• To cover your nose and mouth with handkerchief/tissue while sneezing and coughing.
• To throw used tissues into closed bins immediately after use.
• To maintain a safe distance from persons during interaction, especially with those having
flu-like symptoms.
• To sneeze in the inner side of your elbow and not to cough into the palms of your hands.
• To take their temperature regularly and check for respiratory symptoms. To see a doctor if
you feel unwell (fever, difficulty in breathing and coughing). While visiting doctor, wear a
mask/cloth to cover your mouth and nose.
 • For any fever/flu-like signs/symptoms, please contact helpline number of Covid Task
Forcet or Quick Action Team.

Don'ts
• Shake hands.
• Have a close contact with anyone, if you're experiencing cough and fever.
• Touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Sneeze or cough into palms of your hands.
• Spit in Public.
• Travel unnecessarily, particularly to any affected region.
• Participate in large gatherings, including sitting in groups at canteens.
• Visit gyms, clubs and crowded places etc.
• Spread rumours or panic.

Measures to be taken on occurrence of case(s)

When one or few person(s) who share a room/close office space is/are found to be suffering
from symptoms suggestive of COVID-19:
 Place the ill person in a room or area where they are isolated from others at the workplace.
Provide a mask/face cover till such time he/she is examined by a doctor.
 The suspect case if reporting very mild / mild symptoms on assessment by the health
authorities would be placed under home isolation, subject to fulfilment of criteria laid down
in MoHFW guidelines.
 The necessary actions for contact tracing and disinfection of work place will start once the
report of the patient is received as positive.
 If there are large numbers of contacts from a pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic case, there
could be a possibility of a cluster emerging in workplace setting. Due to the close
environment in workplace settings this could even be a large cluster (>15 cases). The
essential principles of risk assessment, isolation, and quarantine of contacts, case referral
and management will remain the same. However, the scale of arrangements will be higher.

Management of contacts:
 The contacts will be categorised into high and low risk contacts by the District RRT.

Guidelines for home quarantine

Eligibility for home isolation

i. The person should be clinically assigned as a very mild case/ pre-symptomatic case by the
treating medical officer.
ii. Such cases should have the requisite facility at their residence for self-isolation and also
for quarantining the family contacts.
iii. A care giver should be available to provide care on 24 x7 basis. A communication link
between the caregiver and hospital is a prerequisite for the entire duration of home
isolation.
 iv. The care giver and all close contacts of such cases should take Hydroxychloroquine
prophylaxis as per protocol and as prescribed by the treating medical officer
v. Download Arogya Setu App on mobile (available at: https://www.mygov.in/aarogya-
setuapp/) and it should remain active at all times (through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi)
vi. The patient shall agree to monitor his health and regularly inform his health status to the
District Surveillance Officer for further follow up by the surveillance teams.
vii. The patient will fill in an undertaking on self-isolation (Annexure I) and shall follow home
quarantine guidelines. Such individual shall be eligible for home isolation.
viii. In addition to the guidelines on home-quarantine available at:
https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/Guidelinesforhomequarantine.pdf, the required instructions
for the care giver and the patient as in Annexure II shall be also followed.

Instructions for contacts being home quarantined

The home quarantined person should:
Stay in a well-ventilated single-room preferably with an attached/separate toilet. If another
family member needs to stay in the same room, it’s advisable to maintain a distance of at
least 1 meter between the two.
• Needs to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-
morbidities within the household. Page 2 of 3
• Restrict his/her movement within the house.
• Under no circumstances attend any social/religious gathering e.g. wedding, condolences,
etc. He should also follow the under mentioned public health measures at all times:
• Wash hand as often thoroughly with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Avoid sharing household items e.g. dishes, drinking glasses, cups, eating utensils, towels,
bedding, or other items with other people at home.
• Wear a surgical mask at all the time. The mask should be changed every 6-8 hours and
disposed off. Disposable masks are never to be reused.
• Masks used by patients / care givers/ close contacts during home care should be
disinfected using ordinary bleach solution (5%) or sodium hypochlorite solution (1%) and
then disposed of either by burning or deep burial. • Used mask should be considered as
potentially infected.
• If symptoms appear (cough/fever/difficulty in breathing), he/she should immediately
inform the nearest health centre.

Instructions for the family members of persons being home quarantined

• Only an assigned family member should be tasked with taking care of the such person
• Avoid shaking the soiled linen or direct contact with skin
• Use disposable gloves when cleaning the surfaces or handling soiled linen
• Wash hands after removing gloves
• Visitors should not be allowed
• In case the person being quarantined becomes symptomatic, all his close contacts will be
home quarantined (for 14 days) and followed up for an additional 14days or till the report of
such case turns out negative on lab testing
Environmental sanitation

a) Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the quarantined person’s room (e.g.
bed frames, tables etc.) daily with 1%Sodium Hypochlorite Solution.
b) Clean and disinfect toilet surfaces daily with regular household bleach solution/phenolic
disinfectants
c) Clean the clothes and other linen used by the person separately using common household
detergent and dry

Duration of home quarantine

a) The home quarantine period is for 14 days from contact with a confirmed case or earlier if
a suspect case (of whom the index person is a contact) turns out negative on laboratory
testing

Disinfection Procedures in Offices

Detailed guidelines on the disinfection procedures in offices have already been issued by
the MOHFW.

COVID-19: Guidelines on disinfection of common public places including offices

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID -19) is an acute respiratory disease caused by a novel
Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), transmitted in most instances through respiratory droplets, direct
contact with cases and also through contaminated surfaces/objects. Though the virus
survives on environmental surfaces for varied period of time, it gets easily inactivated by
chemical disinfectants. For ease of implementation the guideline divided these areas into (i)
indoor areas, (ii) outdoor areas and (iii) public toilets.

1. Indoor areas including office spaces

Office spaces, including conference rooms should be cleaned every evening after office
hours or early in the morning before the rooms are occupied. If contact surface is visibly
dirty, it should be cleaned with soap and water prior to disinfection. Prior to cleaning, the
worker should wear disposable rubber boots, gloves (heavy duty), and a triple layer mask.
 Start cleaning from cleaner areas and proceed towards dirtier areas. 
 All indoor areas such as entrance lobbies, corridors and staircases, escalators, elevators,
security guard booths, office rooms, meeting rooms, cafeteria should be mopped with a
disinfectant with 1% sodium hypochlorite or phenolic disinfectants. The guidelines for
preparing fresh 1% sodium hypochlorite solution is at Annexure I
 High contact surfaces such elevator buttons, handrails / handles and call buttons, escalator
handrails, public counters, intercom systems, equipment like telephone, printers/scanners,
and other office machines should be cleaned twice daily by mopping with a linen/absorbable
cloth soaked in 1% sodium hypochlorite.Frequently touched areas like table tops, chair
handles, pens, diary files, keyboards, mouse, mouse pad, tea/coffee dispensing machines
etc. should specially be cleaned.
 For metallic surfaces like door handles, security locks, keys etc. 70% alcohol can be used to
wipe down surfaces where the use of bleach is not suitable.
 Hand sanitizing stations should be installed in office premises (especially at the entry) and
near high contact surfaces.
 In a meeting/conference/office room, if someone is coughing, without following
respiratory etiquettes or mask, the areas around his/her seat should be vacated and cleaned
with 1% sodium hypochlorite.
 Carefully clean the equipment used in cleaning at the end of the cleaning process. 
 Remove PPE, discard in a disposable PPE in yellow disposable bag and wash hands with
soap and water. In addition, all employees should consider cleaning the work area in front of
them with a disinfecting wipe prior to use and sit one seat further away from others, if
possible

2. Outdoor areas
Outdoor areas have less risk then indoor areas due to air currents and exposure to sunlight.
These include bus stops, railway platforms, parks, roads, etc. Cleaning and disinfection
efforts should be targeted to frequently touched/contaminated surfaces as already detailed
above.

3. Public toilets
Sanitary workers must use separate set of cleaning equipment for toilets (mops, nylon
scrubber) and separate set for sink and commode). They should always wear disposable
protective gloves while cleaning a toilet.
 70% Alcohol can be used to wipe down surfaces where the use of bleach is not suitable, e.g.
metal. (Chloroxylenol (4.5-5.5%)/ Benzalkonium Chloride or any other disinfectants found to
be effective against coronavirus may be used as per manufacturer’s instructions)
 Always use freshly prepared 1% sodium hypochlorite.
 Do not use disinfectants spray on potentially highly contaminated areas (such as toilet bowl
or surrounding surfaces) as it may create splashes which can further spread the virus.
 To prevent cross contamination, discard cleaning material made of cloth (mop and wiping
cloth) in appropriate bags after cleaning and disinfecting. Wear new pair of gloves and fasten
the bag.
 Disinfect all cleaning equipment after use and before using in other area
 Disinfect buckets by soaking in bleach solution or rinse in hot water