{"id":3021,"date":"2020-07-24T11:27:42","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T11:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empowerelearning.com\/blog\/?p=3021"},"modified":"2020-07-28T09:53:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T09:53:51","slug":"why-you-need-to-know-about-virginia-covid-19-safety-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empowerelearning.com\/blog\/why-you-need-to-know-about-virginia-covid-19-safety-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you need to know about Virginia COVID-19 Safety Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July, 15 Virginia adopted COVID-19 Safety standards for workplaces. It has become the first state to set such standards. The <\/span>emergency workplace safety standards<\/span><\/a> aim at providing a safe working environment to workers. All Virginia employers must follow these standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

To comply with workplace safety standards, employers must<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create a workplace that\u2019s safe, and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Protect employees from COVID-19.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The standards include regulations for sanitation, social distancing, face covering, and hazard communication. They also mandate COVID-19 training for all employees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Virginia COVID-19 Safety Standards
    \n<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Social distancing, sanitation, and use of face covering<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Employees must provide workers with personal protective equipment. They must ensure that the employees interacting with customers wear face masks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Employees also need to follow social distancing rules during work. And, if that\u2019s impossible, the employer must increase access to handwashing and sanitizers.<\/span><\/p>\n

    You should also install physical barrios for mitigating the spread of the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The employer must also ensure regular cleaning of all high-contact surfaces at their workplace. This includes cleaning of all common spaces, such as bathrooms and the lunch area at the end of each shift.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Employees testing positive for COVID-19<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Employees testing positive for COVID-19 should not be allowed to return to work. They should return only after 10 days, or if they test negative twice consecutively. Moreover, the information that an employee has tested positive, should be shared with the rest of the workforce within 24 hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Self-monitoring for symptoms<\/b><\/h2>\n

    You should encourage employees to monitor their own health. You must also train your employees on self-monitoring methods.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Classify jobs\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Under the new standards, employers must classify their job-tasks. All tasks should be classified as <\/span>very-high risk<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>high risk, medium risk, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>lower risk.<\/span><\/i> They must study the possible exposure to COVID-19 for each task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Four levels of exposure risk to COVID-19<\/b><\/h2>\n