This CPP is designed to control exposures to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that may occur in our workplace.
Authority and Responsibility
The school director has overall authority and responsibility for implementing the provisions of this CPP in our workplace.
All employees are responsible for using safe work practices, following all directives, policies and procedures, and assisting in maintaining a safe work environment.
Identification and Evaluation of COVID-19 Hazards
We will implement the following in our workplace:
- Conduct workplace-specific evaluations using the Appendix A: Identification of COVID-19 Hazards
- Evaluate employees’ potential workplace exposures to all persons at, or who may enter, our workplace.
- Review applicable orders and general and industry-specific guidance from the State of California, Cal/OSHA, and the local health department related to COVID-19 hazards and
- Evaluate existing COVID-19 prevention controls in our workplace and the need for different or additional
- Conduct periodic inspections using the Appendix B: COVID-19 Inspections form as needed to identify unhealthy conditions, work practices, and work procedures related to COVID-19 and to ensure compliance with our COVID-19 policies
During the COVID-19 period, we are implementing the following:
- Actively encourage sick employees to stay home.
- We will immediately send employees home or to medical care, as needed, if they have a frequent cough, fever, difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or recent loss of taste or smell.
- Employees who are out ill with fever or acute respiratory symptoms do not return to work until both of the following occur:
- At least three full days pass with no fever (without the use of fever-reducing medications) and no acute respiratory illness symptoms; and
- At least 10 days pass since the symptoms first appeared or negative Covid-19 lab test
- Employees that return to work following an illness promptly report any recurrence of symptoms.
- Employees are provided surgical masks. ALL EMPLOYEES MUST WEAR SURGICAL MASK DURING HOURS OF WORK. Combined with physical distancing when possible. A mask may help prevent infected persons without symptoms from unknowingly spreading COVID-19.
- Avoid shared workspace when possible.
- If they must be shared, clean and disinfect shared a workspace and work items before and after use.
Correction of COVID-19 Hazards
Unsafe or unhealthy work conditions, practices or procedures will be documented on the Appendix B: COVID-19 Inspections form, and corrected in a timely manner based on the severity of the hazards, as follows: The severity of the hazard will be assessed and correction time frames assigned, accordingly. Individuals are identified as being responsible for timely correction. Follow-up measures are taken to ensure timely correction.
Control of COVID-19 Hazards
Physical Distancing
Where possible, we strive for three feet of physical distancing in our workplace by:
- Reducing the number of persons in an area at one time, including restricting parents and visitors from entering the school building.
- Visual cues such as signs and floor markings to indicate where employees and others should be located or their direction and path of travel.
- Staggered arrival, departure, work, and break times.
- Only ONE employee permitted in small spaces such as storage rooms and break rooms.
Face Coverings
We provide clean, undamaged OSHA approved face coverings and ensure they are properly worn by employees over the nose and mouth when indoors, and when six feet away from another person, including non-employees, and where required by orders from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) or local health department. Face masks are provided at the front door and must be disposed of daily at a minimum.
The following are exceptions to the use of face coverings in our workplace:
- When an employee is alone in a class/office, with no one else
- When an employee is outdoors
- While eating and drinking at the workplace
- Employees who cannot wear face coverings due to a medical or mental health condition or disability, or who are hearing-impaired or communicating with a hearing-impaired Alternatives will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Cleaning and disinfecting
We implement the following cleaning and disinfection measures for frequently touched surfaces:
Procedures have been established to routinely clean and disinfect commonly touched objects and surfaces such as elevator buttons, handrails, copy machines, faucets, and doorknobs. These procedures should include:
- Using disinfectants that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19.
- EPA-registered disposable wipes are provided for employees to wipe down commonly used surfaces before use.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., safety requirements, PPE, concentration, contact time).
- The school will ensure there are adequate supplies to support cleaning and disinfection practices.
If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19 infection:
- We will inform employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)..
- Temporarily close the general area where the infected employee worked until cleaning is completed.
- Conduct deep cleaning of the entire general area where the infected employee worked and may have been, including breakrooms, restrooms and travel areas, with a cleaning agent approved for use by the EPA against coronavirus. It should ideally be performed by a professional cleaning service.
- Any person cleaning the area should be equipped with the proper PPE for COVID-19 disinfection (disposable gown, gloves, eye protection, mask, or respirator if required) in addition to PPE required for cleaning products. See below for further information on PPE.
Shared tools, equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE)
PPE must not be shared, e.g., gloves, goggles and face shields.
Items that employees come in regular physical contact with, such as phones, headsets, desks, keyboards, writing materials, instruments and tools must also not be shared, to the extent feasible. Where there must be sharing, the items will be disinfected between uses by a dedicated and trained employee that cleans and sanitizes the surfaces with the appropriate materials.
Hand sanitizing
In order to implement effective hand sanitizing procedures, we are:
- Providing employees with an effective hand sanitizer, and prohibit hand sanitizers that contain methanol (i.e. methyl alcohol).
- Encouraging employees to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds each
Personal protective equipment (PPE) used to control employees’ exposure to COVID-19
We evaluate the need for PPE (such as gloves, goggles, and face shields) as required by CCR Title 8, section 3380, and provide such PPE as needed.
Investigating and Responding to COVID-19 Cases
This will be accomplished by using the Appendix C: Investigating COVID-19 Cases form.
Employees who had potential COVID-19 exposure in our workplace will be:
- Offered COVID-19 testing at no cost during their working
- Referred to vaccination facilities at no cost to the employee
- The information on benefits described in Training and Instruction, and Exclusion of COVID-19 Cases, below, will be provided to them.
System for Communicating
Our goal is to ensure that we have effective two-way communication with our employees, in a form they can readily understand, and that it includes the following information:
- Who employees should report COVID-19 symptoms and possible hazards to, and how.
- That employees can report symptoms and hazards without fear of reprisal.
- Our procedures or policies for accommodating employees with medical or other conditions that put them at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness.
- Where testing is not required, how employees can access COVID-19 testing
- In the event we are required to provide testing because of a workplace exposure or outbreak, we will communicate the plan for providing testing and the possible consequences of a positive test.
- Information about COVID-19 hazards employees (including other employers and individuals in contact with our workplace) may be exposed to, what is being done to control those hazards, and our COVID-19 policies and
Training and Instruction
We will provide effective training and instruction that includes:
- Our COVID-19 policies and procedures to protect employees from COVID-19
- COVID-19 ways of being spread
- COVID-19 may be transmitted when a person touches a contaminated object and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.
- An infectious person may have no symptoms
- Methods of physical distancing and the importance of combining physical distancing with the wearing of face
- The fact that particles containing the virus can travel more than six feet, especially indoors, so physical distancing must be combined with other controls, including face coverings and hand hygiene, to be
- The importance of frequent hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and using hand sanitizer
- Proper use of face coverings and the fact that cloth face coverings are not respiratory protective equipment – face coverings are intended to primarily protect other individuals from the wearer of the face covering.
- COVID-19 symptoms, and the importance of obtaining a COVID-19 test and not coming to work if the employee has COVID-19 symptoms.
Exclusion of COVID-19 Cases
Where we have a COVID-19 case in our workplace, we will limit transmission by:
- Ensuring that COVID-19 cases are excluded from the workplace until our return-to-work requirements are
- Excluding employees with COVID-19 exposure as directed by our local Health Department officer
- Providing employees at the time of exclusion with information available
Reporting, Record keeping, and Access
It is our policy to:
- Report information about COVID-19 cases at our workplace to the local health department whenever required by law, and provide any related information requested by the local health department.
- Report immediately to Cal/OSHA any COVID-19-related serious illnesses or death, as defined under CCR Title 8 section 330(h), of an employee occurring in our place of employment or in connection with any employment.
- Maintain records of the steps taken to implement our written COVID-19 Prevention Program in accordance with CCR Title 8 section 3203(b).
- Make our written COVID-19 Prevention Program available at the workplace to employees
- Use the Appendix C: Investigating COVID-19 Cases form to keep a record of and track all COVID-19
Return-to-Work Criteria
- COVID-19 cases with COVID-19 symptoms will not return to work until all the following have occurred:
- At least 24 hours have passed since a fever of 100.4 or higher has resolved without the use of fever-reducing
- At least 10 days have passed since COVID-19 symptoms or negative test
- COVID-19 cases who tested positive but never developed COVID-19 symptoms will not return to work until a minimum of 10 days have passed since the date of specimen collection of their first positive COVID-19
- If an order to isolate or quarantine an employee is issued by a local or state health official, the employee will not return to work until the period of isolation or quarantine is completed or the order is If no period was specified, then the period will be 10 days from the time the order to isolate was effective, or 14 days from the time the order to quarantine was effective.