The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) has released a series of health and safety precautions aimed at private and public employers in Arkansas.
ACHI’s Health Policy Board developed the five proposals, which are designed to limit the continued spread of COVID-19 in the state. According to the board, these proposals will help employers protect employees and customers and will “minimize economic hardships in Arkansas.” The board is encouraging all public and private businesses to adopt the proposed guidelines if not bound by industry-specific directives.
“Voluntary adoption by employers of these five precautions, in addition to following all of the Arkansas Department of Health’s general and business-specific directives, will further strengthen Arkansas’s public health response to COVID-19,” ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said in a statement. “Fighting the spread of this disease requires changes in our behavior, and not enough of us are making the necessary changes. We call on employers to step up and do more than the minimum to ensure that their places of business are not COVID-19 transmission zones.”
The proposed guidelines include
- Requiring employees, customers, and visitors to wear face coverings in shared spaces while inside
- Screening all employees for potential COVID-19 exposure and symptoms including fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell as they are entering the facility at the beginning of work;
- Making verbal announcements and post signage including signs for non-English speakers that encourage proper face covering placement, hand hygiene, and coughing and sneezing etiquette.
- Establishing and making available to the public written COVID-19 protocols for protection of employees, customers, and visitors.
- Regularly monitoring and assessing compliance for necessary changes to existing practices based on available peer-reviewed evidence and public health guidance.
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