Covid19 Showroom Safety Practices
It doesn’t matter if you’re a worker or someone who is responsible for workers, you must identify and manage work health and safety risks including the exposure to COVID-19.
COVID-19 spreads from person to person in a similar way to the flu:
• from close contact with an infected person
• from touching objects or surfaces contaminated by the sneeze or cough of an infected person and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
COVID-19 can cause symptoms like the flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, tiredness, or shortness of breath.
Most people who are infected experience mild to moderate symptoms from which they fully recover. However, some people develop more serious illness with pneumonia and other complications. People at increased risk of serious illness include the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, heart, and lung disease) or a weakened immune system.
It is important to remember that most people who become ill with respiratory symptoms at work are likely suffering from a cold, the flu or other respiratory illness – not COVID-19.
Self-quarantine
Workers and others cannot go to work and must self-quarantine for 14 days if they have:
• recently travelled to an overseas destination considered high risk by Queensland Health
• been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Workers who need to self-quarantine should notify their employer and stay away from work. They should seek immediate medical attention if they become ill during the quarantine period and call ahead of arriving and mention their travel or contact history.
Preventing the spread of infection at work
For most businesses, the health risk is low. Simple hygiene practices, like those used to protect against the flu, can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.
For workers:
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or flexed elbow when coughing or sneezing,
dispose of tissues immediately after use and wash your hands or apply hand sanitiser.
• Avoid close contact with anyone who has cold or flu-like symptoms.
• Stay home if you are unwell.
• If you are working onsite ensure you wear gloves and masks
• Avoid large social gatherings
• Do not shake hands
For employers:
• Provide hand washing facilities and make sure these are kept clean, properly stocked and
in good working order.
• Provide alcohol-based hand sanitiser, tissues and cleaning supplies.
• Promote good hygiene practices, e.g. display posters on handwashing and respiratory hygiene.
• Keep the workplace clean and hygienic. Regularly cleaning high-touch surfaces such as
door handles and workstations helps prevent contamination.
• Visit the Smartraveller website before arranging business travel to destinations with
cases of COVID-19. Workers who become sick while travelling or after returning from
affected areas should seek immediate medical advice and notify their employer.
• Encourage workers who are sick with respiratory illness to stay home until they are
recovered.
• If someone becomes ill with respiratory symptoms at work, isolate them by placing them
in a room or an area away from others.
• Arrange for the person to be sent home and advise them to seek medical advice. If they
are very unwell, call an ambulance.
• If a worker is confirmed to have COVID-19, call 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84) for advice.
Inform co-workers about possible exposure to COVID-19 but maintain confidentiality.
Advise workers to seek immediate medical
Personal protective equipment
PPE should be worn by:
• People with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 as advised by their doctor
• People with close contact with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 (e.g. healthcare workers). PPE guidance for specific industries is available at www.health.gov.au.
Surgical masks can help prevent the spread of disease from infected people
More information
• National Coronavirus Health Information Line: 1800 020 080