Tips for Keeping Businesses Open: Watch the Socializing and Downtime

And while it seems as if no one can escape this current wave, there are steps businesses can take to potentially prevent going on complete lockdown.

Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa

Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Deputy Regional Health Manager, Central Health Region

“I think that most businesses that deal with the general public, and have a continuous flow, may have persons sick. We know that from the beginning of January we have had certain banks that have had to close some of their branches and they have now reopened because they have sprayed. There are restaurants that have had to close and other places as well that would have had to shut down for three or four days until you could go in, test everybody, and isolate the positive cases. The advice remains is that we know how COVID-19 spreads. The majority of time that persons are exposed it’s when at home or in close contact with friends or family, without your mask. So you are eating lunch, sitting together for a long time. So, we continue to give the work advice of not allowing staff to lunch together. So, you take your lunch at separate times. If you eat together, at least try to sit, maybe, two at a table, and six feet apart if possible. Always keep your mask on over your nose and mouth when you are dealing with other colleagues and with the public as well. Socializing and downtime is when we see infections occurring at businesses. But, when you are at your desk, or when you are working, it is less likely for you to have been exposed.”