A Guide to Reopen Your Business: Everything You Need to Know

Do you have the essential products you need to protect your employees and customers from the SARS COV-2, or COVID-19 pandemic? You want to make sure you are completely prepared to be open so your business does not have a COVID-19 outbreak and have to cease operations.

We all want to get back to the way things were, but it is important to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organizaion (WHO), as well as local public health guidelines. Many small businesses are opening up the worksites again. Before your business reopens, stock up on face masks, alcohol hand sanitizer, and a no contact thermometer at the minimum. Use UV Sterilizer products available to help you disinfect your furniture surface area. Other options include purifying the air you breathe with UV-C light technology.

We put together a list of steps you should consider so that everyone can work in a safe and healthy environment. Together, we can conquer the corona virus pandemic.

Before your business reopens:

Identify essential business functions and employees

Identify alternate supply chains for your critical goods and services and plan staggered shifts for your employees, promoting social distancing and minimizing the number of people at the worksite at a time. If customers often visit your worksite, consider installing a drive-up window where they can pick up products or develop a path to deliver it to customers.

Revise leave policies

Revise your leave policies to cover situations caused by the coronavirus. Leave policies should be flexible and non-punitive. Review your company leave policy with all employees and make sure they fully understand. If an employee has symptoms or has been around someone who tested postive, they should not come into work until confirming their case. If an employee tests positive, do not have them come into work for two weeks.

Prepare business continuity plans

Review your business’s current continuity plan or make a new one. The plan must cover specific effects of the corona virus, such as having less people in the workplace than usual. For more information, the Department of Homeland Security details all the steps needed to create a business continuity plan at https://www.ready.gov/business-continuity-plan.

Establish an emergency communications plan

Develop a way to communicate with your employees so that they have the most up to date information on what the workplace is doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You can use an online forum, mailing list, or call list.

Essential Products at the Workplace

After you have prepared policies and procedures to reopen the workplace, you need the essential products to keep your employees safe and healthy. Here is everything you need to keep the workplace COVID-19 free:

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Thermometer: A fever is one of the leading symptoms of the coronavirus, so many worksites require temperature checks before employees begin work. A no-contact forehead thermometer, or NCIT, checks body temperature without having to directly touch anyone.

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Respirator Face Masks: PPE, which stands for personal protective equipment, includes any equipment that protects the user from hazards. The CDC recommends that everyone wear face masks in public, because the virus can spread even before symptoms begin. Provide each employee with a reusable cloth face mask and encourage everyone to wear them while working.

Tissues

Tissues & trash can: If an employee sneezes, you definitely want them sneezing into a tissue instead of spreading germs all over the workplace! Place tissues within easy reach for all employees. Make sure you have trash cans for employees to throw away those used tissues.

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Soap/soap dispenser: The best way to get rid of germs is to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. Always keep soap stocked in the bathrooms at your worksite. Now would be a good time to invest in a touch-free soap dispenser, reducing the risk of the virus spreading on a shared surface.

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Paper towel dispenser or hand dryer: There are touch free options available for drying hands too. You can invest in a touch-free paper towel dispenser or a hand dryer to further eliminate the need to touch shared surfaces.

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Disinfectant: Encourage routine cleaning of surfaces at your worksite. Wipe down surfaces with soap and water, and then use a disinfectant to kill any unwanted germs or viruses that may linger.

UV sterilizer: UV sterilizers represent the future of cleaning- they use UV rays to kill germs in minutes! Choose the best option for your business and make sure to use it often.

Final Check:

To reopen safely, your business needs:

  • Policy and procedures: revised leave policy, business continuity plan, emergency communications plan
  • Essential products: thermometers, masks, hand sanitizer, tissues, soap, UV sterilizers, and disinfectants

If your business meets all requirements, then you are ready to open.

Have we missed anything? Let us know!

Wash your hands, stay clean, and stay healthy!

Emily Klump
Emily Klump

Emily Klump is a recent graduate of Kennesaw State University, where she received her degree in English. As a content writer at HomElectrical, she uses her passions for reading, writing, and the Earth to share green products and lifestyle tips with the world. Emily occupies her spare time with a wide range of activities that vary from reading fantasy novels to camping under the stars.

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