PA Orders Coronavirus Safety Measures At Essential Businesses
HARRISBURG, PA — Governor Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced an order that establishes mandatory safety protections and protocols at businesses currently permitted to be open during the coronavirus crisis.
The order is the latest in a series of steps aimed to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, where there have been 26,490 coronavirus cases and 647 deaths.
The measures, which include mandatory mask wearing by employees and temperature checks if COVID-19 exposure has occurred, will be enforced. Violations include citations, fines, or license suspensions. Compliance with the order will be enforced beginning Sunday, April 19 at 8 p.m., the governor's office said.
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Businesses authorized to stay open, including grocery stores and pharmacies, must now mandate employees wear masks, and must provide those masks for their workers if necessary. Businesses should require all customers wear masks, the order says.
It is a "mandatory requirement" employees wear masks while at the work site, unless an employee is using break time to eat or drink, the order states. Employers may approve masks obtained or made by employees.
Workers must be provided ample break spaces to eat meals while maintaining a social distance of six feet, including limiting the number of employees in common areas.
All meetings and trainings should be done virtually. "If a meeting must be held in person, limit the meeting to the fewest number of employees possible, not to exceed 10 employees at one time and maintain a social distance of six feet," the order said.
If a business discovers there has been an exposure to a person who has COVID-19, temperature screenings are required before employees can enter the business prior to the start of work. Any employee who has an elevated temperature of 100.4 degrees must be sent home and cannot return until the CDC criteria to discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with the health care providers and state and local health departments.
When there has been exposure at a business, the area visited by the infected person must be closed off and ventilated. After a minimum of 24 hours, the area as well as all common rooms and shared electronics must be cleaned and disinfected.
Businesses must identify and notify employees who were in close contact — defined in the order as within about six feet for about 10 minutes — with the infected person.
The order includes other measures, including ensuring that all employees who do not speak English as their first language are aware of procedures through communications in their native language. The full order can be viewed here.
“This order provides critical protections for the workers needed to run and operate these life-sustaining establishments," Gov. Wolf said during a Wednesday news conference. "Businesses across the state have already begun to implement many of these protocols on their own, and we applaud their efforts to protect employees and customers."
He reminded residents that while the state has seen a flattening of its curve, residents must continue to stay home.
"We'll soon be moving into a reopening phase but for now, we need to continue staying home as much as possible. That's what's best for everyone, including ourselves," he said.
In addition to the social distancing, mitigation and cleaning protocols, businesses that serve the public within a building or defined area are ordered to implement the following measures, the order states:
Require all customers to wear masks while on premises, and deny entry to individuals not wearing masks, unless the business is providing medication, medical supplies, or food, in which case the business must provide alternative methods of pick-up or delivery of goods, except individuals who cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition (including children under the age of 2 years) may enter the premises without having to provide medical documentation.
Conduct business with the public by appointment only and, to the extent that this is not feasible, limit occupancy to no greater than 50 percent of the number stated on their certificate of occupancy as necessary to reduce crowding in the business and at check-out and counter lines in order to maintain a social distance of six feet, and place signage throughout each site to mandate social distancing for both customers and employees.
Alter hours of business so that the business has sufficient time to clean or to restock or both.
Install shields or other barriers at registers and check-out areas to physically separate cashiers and customers or take other measures to ensure social distancing of customers from check-out personnel, or close lines to maintain a social distance between of six feet between lines.
Encourage use of online ordering by providing delivery or outside pick-up.
Designate a specific time for high-risk and elderly persons to use the business at least once every week if there is a continuing in-person customer-facing component.
In businesses with multiple check-out lines, only use every other register, or fewer. After every hour, rotate customers and employees to the previously closed registers. Clean the previously open registers and the surrounding area, including credit card machines, following each rotation.
Schedule handwashing breaks for employees at least every hour
Where carts and handbaskets are available, assign an employee to wipe down carts and handbaskets before they become available to a new customer.
The latest order follows a series of closures that began a month ago. All Pennsylvania schools have been closed since at least March 17, and all of the state's non-essential services were ordered closed March 23. A statewide stay-at-home order was instituted on April 1.
>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania
This article originally appeared on the Newtown Patch
