COVID – 19 SAFETY PLAN Employers must develop a COVID-19 Safety Plan. WorkSafeBC provides a six-step process and template for developing this plan. STEP 1: ASSESS THE RISKS AT YOUR WORKPLACE The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads in several ways. It can spread in droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. It can also spread if you touch a contaminated surface and then touch your face. The risk of person to person transmission increases the closer you come to other people, the more time you spend near them, and the more people you come near. The risk of surface transmission increases when many people contact the same surface and when those contacts happen over short periods of time. Workers will be involved when assessing the workplace. Identify areas where there may be risks, either through close physical proximity or through contaminated surfaces. The closer together workers are and the longer they are close to each other, the greater the risk. ✓ We have involved frontline workers, supervisors, and the joint health and safety committee (or worker health and safety representative, if applicable) ✓ We have identified areas where people gather, such as break rooms, production lines, and meeting rooms. ✓ We have identified job tasks and processes where workers are close to one another or members of the public. This can occur in your workplace, in worker vehicles, or at other work locations (if your workers travel offsite as part of their jobs). ✓ We have identified the tools, machinery, and equipment that workers share while working. ✓ We have identified surfaces that people touch often, such as doorknobs, elevator buttons, and light switches. West Vancouver Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan (September, 2020) 1 of 18 STEP 2: IMPLEMENT PROTOCOLS TO REDUCE THE RISKS Select and implement protocols to minimize the risks of transmission. Look to the following for information, input, and guidance: ✓ Review industry-specific protocols on worksafebc.com to determine whether any are relevant to your industry. Guidance for additional sectors will be posted as they become available. If protocols are developed specific to your sector, implement these to the extent that they are applicable to the risks at your workplace. You may need to identify and implement additional protocols if the posted protocols do not address all the risks to your workers. ✓ Frontline workers, supervisor, and the joint health and safety committee (or worker representative). ✓ Orders, guidance, and notices issued by the provincial health officer and relevant to your industry. ✓ Your health and safety association or other professional and industry associations. Reduce the risk of person to person transmission To reduce the risk of the virus spreading through droplets in the air, implement protocols to protect against your identified risks. Different protocols offer different levels of protection. Whenever possible, use the protocol that offers the highest level of protection. Consider controls from additional levels if the first level is not practicable or does not completely control the risk. You will likely need to incorporate controls from various levels to address the risk at your workplace. West Vancouver Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan (September, 2020) 2 of 18 First level protection (elimination): Limit the number of people at the workplace and ensure physical distance whenever possible. ✓ We have established and posted an occupancy limit for various spaces on our premises where appropriate. Public Health has advised that the prohibition on gatherings of greater than 50 people refers to “one-time or episodic events” (weddings, public gatherings) and is therefore not intended to apply to workplaces. ✓ In order to reduce the number of people at the worksite, we have considered work-from-home arrangements, virtual meetings, rescheduling work tasks, and limiting the number of customers and visitors in the workplace. ✓ We have implemented measures to keep workers and others at least 2 metres apart, wherever possible. Options include revising work schedules and reorganizing work tasks. West Vancouver Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan (September, 2020) 3 of 18 Measures in Place ✓ We are complying with all guidelines contained in the BC Centre for Disease Control/BC Ministry of Health “COVID-19 Public Health guidance for K-12 School Settings” ✓ We are complying with the “Provincial COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines for K-12 Settings” ✓ We are complying with the standards, guidelines and protocols from WorkSafeBC ✓ We have developed a Restart Plan as required by the Ministry of Education ✓ We are using the “Hierarchy for Infection Prevention and Exposure Control Measures for Communicable Disease” which describes measures that should be taken to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in schools. ✓ We are implementing a combination of measures at each level to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. Cohorts & Physical Distancing ✓ We are reducing the number of in-person, close interactions through two different but complementary approaches: cohorts and physical distancing. ✓ In elementary schools, a cohort will be composed of up to 60 people. ✓ In secondary schools, a cohort will be composed of up to 120 people. ✓ During Stage 2, within the cohort, minimized physical contact will be encouraged but physical distance does not need to be maintained. ✓ During Stages 3 and 4, staff, middle and elementary students will have to maintain physical distance at all times even if they are part of the same cohort ✓ Cohorts will be changed as minimally as possible ✓ Schools will keep up to date lists of all members of a cohort to share with public health should contact tracing need to occur West Vancouver Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan (September, 2020) 4 of 18 ✓ We will minimize the number of adults who interact with cohorts ✓ When staff are in close proximity with a student within their cohort, personal protective equipment is not required beyond that used as part of the personal care routine normally encountered in their regular course of work ✓ Those individuals outside of a cohort must practice physical distance. ✓ Where staff outside a learning cohort cannot practice physical distancing, other measures will be explored. Where other measures are not viable options, staff are required to wear a non-medical mask. ✓ Schools will have non-medical masks and face shields available for staff ✓ All staff will practice physical distancing from each other at all times. ✓ The public will not be allowed inside sites without an appointment. All visitors will be limited in numbers. ✓ Visual cues for physical distancing will be established where necessary. ✓ Schools will not be used for community related events during school hours Illness ✓ We will report illness as required to assist the Public Health Office in case finding, contact tracing and outbreak management. ✓ Employees and students who are sick must stay home. Employees and students will be assessed by their healthcare provider and will be symptom free prior to returning to the site. Second level protection (engineering): Barriers and partitions ✓ Physical distancing will be practiced by all employees at all times. ✓ Barriers may be installed in places where physical distance cannot regularly be maintained and a person is interacting with numerous individuals outside of a cohort. West Vancouver Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan (September, 2020) 5 of 18 Third level protection (administrative): rules and guidelines ✓ We have identified rules and guidelines for how workers should conduct themselves. ✓ We have clearly communicated these rules and guidelines to workers through a combination of training and signage. Measures in place Cleaning and disinfection: ✓ General cleaning and disinfection of all school premises will be in accordance with the BCCDC’s “Cleaning and Disinfectants for Public Settings” document. ✓ Every custodian will have a copy of the BCCDC “Cleaning and Disinfectants for Public Settings” document ✓ There will be general cleaning and disinfecting of the premises at least once every 24 hours. This includes items that only a single student uses, like an individual desk or locker. ✓ Cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces will occur at least twice every 24 hours. These include doorknobs, light switches, toilet handles, tables, desks and chairs used by multiple students, keyboards and toys. ✓ All visibly dirty surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected ✓ Common, commercially available detergents and disinfectant products will be used by closely following the instructions on the label. ✓ Custodial staff will use brands and disinfectant products listed in Health Canada’s list of “hard-surface disinfectants for use against coronavirus (COVID-19) ✓ Items that are not easily cleaned will be limited or removed from premises ✓ Schools will limit the use of shared equipment as much as is practical to do so ✓ Garbage containers will be emptied daily West Vancouver Schools COVID-19 Safety Plan (September, 2020) 6 of 18 ✓ Disposable gloves will be worn when cleaning blood or body fluids (e.g. runny nose, vomit, stool, urine). Hands will be washed before and after wearing gloves. ✓ Paper towels and garbage containers will be provided in all washrooms ✓ Water fountains will be disabled ✓ Items and surfaces that children have placed in their mouths or that have been in contact with bodily fluids should be cleaned as soon as possible and between uses by different children ✓ Dishwasher safe items will be cleaned and disinfected in a dishwasher with a hot rinse cycle ✓ When doing laundry in a school setting, laundry should be placed in a laundry basket with a plastic liner; dirty items should not be shaken; wash will be performed with regular laundry soap and hot water (60-90 degrees Celsius) Cohorts: ✓ We will implement cohorts in all of our schools. A cohort is a group of students and staff who remain together throughout the school term ✓ Cohorts reduce the number of in-person, close interactions a person has in school without requiring physical distancing to consistently be practiced. ✓ In elementary schools, a cohort will be composed of up to 60 people.