COVID-19 Blog

EI's COVID-19 Professional Services >> more info <<

When news was initially released that Wuhan, China was impacted by the coronavirus, EI immediately launched a series of weekly educational blogs in mid-January highlighting pragmatic occupational health and industrial hygiene practices which minimize the possibility of coronavirus transmission in the workplace.

The blog series has since covered the following topics:

1.  Business Contingency Plans (January 27, 2020 and February 6, 2020) – Includes coronavirus pandemic planning
2.  Respiratory Protection (February 13, 2020) – N95’s vs. Surgical Masks
3.  Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) (March 23, 2020) – Monitoring/corrective measures to minimize airborne COVID-19
4.  Cleaning & Disinfection (March 25, 2020) – Cleaning, Disinfection & Verification Protocol as well as optimal EPA List N disinfectants & importance of proper application
5.  Navigating COVID-19 (April 7, 2020) – Employer Guidance for Voluntary Respirator Use
6.  Employee Medical Screening (April 8, 2020) – Detailed Guidance for identifying potential carriers of COVID-19
7. OSHA Recordkeeping (April 15, 2020) – Is COVID-19 Recordable on the OSHA 300 Log?\\\\
8.  Reopening Business (April 29, 2020) – Guidelines for Minimizing Occupational COVID-19 Transmission
9.  Training Students (May 7, 2020) – In the Era of COVID-19
10.  Industry Sector-Specific Guidelines (May 12, 2020) – For Re-Opening Our Nation’s Businesses
11.  COVID-19 Recovery Guidance (May 19, 2020) – Water System Restart from No- or Low-Occupancy Operation
12. Going Back to Work (May 21, 2020) – Considerations for Owners and Managers to Protect Employees, Tenants and Contractors
13. The Emergency Action Plan and COVID-19 (June 3, 2020) – Is it Time for a Revision?
14. The Re-Emergence of the Occupational Health Nurse (June 17, 2020) – As Employers Return to Work
15. OSHA COVID-19 Recordkeeping (June 23, 2020) – OSHA Revises Earlier Requirements for Cases
16. Airborne COVID-19 Transmission in the Workplace (July 23, 2020)
17. Are You Neglecting Safety Programs During the Pandemic? (August 18, 2020)
18. Part I: Lessons Learned from Occupational COVID-19 Screening (August 27, 2020)
19. Environmental Surveillance: COVID-19 Testing of Wastewater (September 3, 2020)
20. Part II: Lessons Learned from Occupational COVID-19 Screening – 140,000 Employees Screened Over 6 Months (September 10, 2020)
21. Part III: Tips for an Effective Occupational COVID-19 Screening Process (September 17, 2020)

The background information in EI’s blog series builds an excellent foundation for a comprehensive plan to minimize occupational transmission of COVID-19 when reopening businesses.

Deep Breath: Respiratory Protection in the Growing COVID-19 Epidemic

by Adam Underwood | Feb 13, 2020

As the virus (newly dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization) accelerates and spreads beyond Chinese borders, businesses are deploying increasingly rigorous measures to limit the spread of the potential pandemic. Most news articles covering the spread of the virus include photos of travelers or government officials wearing surgical masks. But how effective will surgical masks for respiratory protection from the pathogen turn out to be? Is a surgical mask enough or is an N95 respirator needed?

Part II: Business Contingency Planning For the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic – Is Your Corporation Prepared?

by Greg Lathan | Feb 6, 2020

Just one week ago, The EI Group updated our blog recipients on the state of the emerging coronavirus. In just one week, mortality has vastly exceeded the SARS virus (349 versus 560 coronavirus fatalities). Reported cases of the coronavirus have eclipsed 28,000, nearly a seven-fold increase in only one week! In contrast, the entire SARS outbreak resulted in only 5,327 infected.

Part I: Business Contingency Planning For the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic – Is Your Corporation Prepared?

by Garrett Ponzi | Jan 27, 2020

News about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), commonly known as the “Wuhan Coronavirus,” has dominated the headlines for days now. Over 4,500 cases have now been confirmed in Mainland China and 106 people are dead as the death toll continues to rise. The virus has some link to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread. However, a growing number of patients have reportedly not had exposure to the animal markets, indicating person-to-person spread is occurring.