GREENSBORO, N.C. — There have been a lot of questions about what businesses are required to do if an employee tests positive for COVID 19.
Under North Carolina and federal laws information on a person's health, including a positive test for coronavirus, is strictly confidential.
Employers cannot disclose those details unless the person in question allows it or a next-of-kin approves if someone has died.
According to guidelines for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, employers should not require employees reporting COVID-19 infection to present a COVID-19 positive test result before excusing them from work. However, employers may ask for the name and contact the physician providing the diagnosis.
Once notified, employers must contact the local health department to report a positive case and get guidance.
The health department is responsible for conducting contact tracing required for dealing with communicable diseases and notifies those people.
The local health department also determines whether it is in the public safety interest to identify an individual who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
While there is no state standard for dealing with coronavirus in the workplace, under the NC Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Act, the employer is obligated to provide a safe work environment and must work with the health department to sanitize the workplace.
Triad businesses that specialize in workplace hygiene and environmental sanitation say since the beginning of the pandemic, more businesses are requiring their services and requesting deep cleaning.
"In the professional cleaning business, what that means is attention to details, and also using the correct disinfecting material such as chlorine dioxide," said Steve Pippen of Jan-Pro, Greensboro.
According to the CDC, Chlorine dioxide is used to sterilize medical and laboratory equipment, surfaces, rooms, and tools. It can be used as an oxidizer or disinfectant and effectively kills pathogenic microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses.
Pippen says the disinfectant is incorporated into Jan-Pro's EnviroShield disinfecting process which is the same extensive cleaning process used to sanitize hospital operating rooms.
The deep cleaning process starts out with simple techniques like wiping, dusting and vacuuming surfaces to an electromagnetic charge induced fogging method.
"You want to clean everything first before you go to disinfection because the disinfection doesn't know the difference between dirt, gum or the virus," said Garrett Mills of CS Triad based in Kernersville.
Mills staff use the company's own variant of cleaning solutions, disinfectants, and regimen called Eco Solutions which also specifically targets things like coronavirus.
"Make sure when you're disinfecting that the chemical is staying in place for the approved amount of time that viruses have to be killed by a disinfectant. The disinfectants have to sit for a specific amount of time, wet, before they dry, to get into that virus and kill it," added Mills.
The cleaning services industry is considered essential and many of their workers are exposed to both hazardous conditions and locations, including pathogens like the virus. Their employers are responsible for making sure that while they are carrying out their duties they are provided the utmost safety.
"The have N 95 masks, gloves, eye protection, and face shields and in the case of coronavirus exposure we're wearing full Tyvek suits," said Pippen.
"If there's any type of infection, anybody that could ever be exposed to it should be informed and I think communication is key," added Pippen.
"Being very proactive in every way shape or form, communication with what's going on at your facility," added Mills.
Some workers with underlying medical conditions are also protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Workers who feel they are being put at risk by their employers may contact the NC Labor Dept to file an OSH complaint.