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Department of Health:Handling of notification of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the workplace
Issued date”G03/08/2020
Source”GDepartment of Health
To effectively reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community, the Department of Health reminds the public to fight the epidemic together, maintain good personal and environmental hygiene at all times, and stay at home as much as possible. In addition, the public, the person in charge of premises, and property management should strengthen environmental hygiene: frequently touched areas must be cleaned and disinfected at least daily; common areas and facilities must be cleaned, disinfected and maintained regularly.

If unfortunately an employee is diagnosed with the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the workplace, the Department of Health urges employers to follow the "Management upon notification of a confirmed case in workplace":
Infection control advice for person who are close contacts waiting for telephone call from CHP
 
1. Stay at home and wait for telephone call from CHP for further arrangements
2. Stay in a well-ventilated single room as far as possible. Household members should preferably stay in a separate room
3. Ensure that shared spaces are well ventilated by keeping windows open
4. If living with other people, all should wear surgical mask properly
5. Avoid sharing of personal items and meals with other household members
6. Refrain from contacts with other people as far as possible
7. Avoid visiting by friends or relatives not living together
8. Perform hand hygiene frequently and observe cough etiquette
9. Designate a toilet to be used only by the close contact as far as possible. If this is not feasible, need to clean and disinfect the toilet after each use. Clean and disinfect toilet bowel with 1 in 49 diluted household bleach after defeacation. Clean and disinfect the washing basin with 1 in 49 diluted household bleach if contaminated with sputum or saliva eg. after rinsing mouth or brushing teeth
10. Proper use of toilet e.g. close toilet lid before flushing and always wash hands with liquid soap and water after using the toilet
11. Maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly (about once a week) pour about half a litre of water into each drain outlet (U-traps), to ensure environmental hygiene. Cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use.
12. Clean and disinfect the home environment daily with 1 in 99 diluted household bleach (mixing 10 ml of bleach containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite with 990 ml of water), leave for 15-30 minutes and then rinse with water. For metallic surface, disinfect with 70% alcohol
13. If places are contaminated by respiratory secretions, vomitus or excreta, use strongly absorbent disposable towels to clean up the visible matter. Then disinfect the surface and the neighbouring area with disinfectant. For non-metallic surface, disinfect with 1 in 49 diluted household bleach (mixture of 10ml of household bleach containing 5.25% hypochlorite solution with 490ml of water), leave for 15 - 30 minutes, and then rinse with water. For metallic surface, disinfect with 70% alcohol.
14. If develop fever and acute respiratory symptoms or feeling unwell, make sure the mask is worn properly; report your symptoms upon receiving phone call from CHP for advice and arrangement to public hospital for further management.
15. If a household member develops fever or respiratory symptoms; or sudden loss of taste or smell, he or she should put on a surgical mask and seek medical attention immediately. 
 
Enhanced Environmental Disinfection
 
1. Disinfect all potentially contaminated surfaces or items by using 1 in 49 diluted household bleach (mixing 1 part of household bleach containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite with 49 parts of water).
2. If There is Blood, Secretions, Vomitus or Excreta Spillage, Take Enhanced Measures:
(a) Cleaning staff should wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) including surgical mask, gloves, disposable gown, eye protection (goggles/face shield) and cap (optional).
(b) Use forceps to hold the strong absorbent disposable towels to wipe away the blood, secretions, vomitus or excreta during a preliminary clean up.
(c) Then put the forceps and used absorbent disposable towels in a garbage bag carefully without contaminating oneself/the environment.
(d) Disinfect with 1 in 4 diluted household bleach (mixing 1 part of household bleach containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite with 4 parts of water), wipe from the outside inward, leave for 10 minutes, rinse with water and wipe dry afterwards.
(e) After the procedure, put all the wastes and cleaning tools (e.g. forceps, cloth, mop head) in the garbage bag.
(f) Carefully remove PPE, put them in the garbage bag, and then perform hand hygiene.(When hands are not visibly soiled, use 70-80% alcohol-based handrub. Wash hands with soap and water when hands are visibly dirty or visible soiled with blood, body fluid).
(g) Wear a pair of new gloves, seal the waste bag tight and dispose it properly in covered rubbish bin. Then, label the rubbish bin and put it in a safe undisturbed place until collection.
(h) Remove gloves carefully. Wash hands with liquid soap and water.
(i) When COVID-19 is confirmed, CHP will inform the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department(FEHD) to disinfect the contaminated environment and waste disposal.
 
Annex:
 

 
 

 
 
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