at York Region our first priority is the
health and safety of our residents staff
and community during kovat 19 it's
important to adhere to provincial
federal and local public health advice
and guidelines to keep our communities
and one another healthy and safe under
the Occupational Health and Safety Act
employers must take precautions to keep
workers safe including keeping them
informed creating policies and
procedures and ensuring workers use the
right protective equipment wherever you
work here in York Region we have some
useful information and tips on how to
stay healthy and safe at work it's
important to keep in mind that we're
constantly learning about Kovach 19 the
information in this resource is the most
accurate as of the end of May 20 20
please continue to visit Ontario CA and
the Ontario Ministry of Labour for
provincial news and updates as well as
York CA for York Region specific
information and resources as we work our
way through this resource will be
covering kovat 19 and self-assessment
physical distancing washing cleaning and
disinfecting and reporting health and
safety concerns and exposures let's
begin by taking a look at code 19 and
self-assessment coronaviruses are a
large family of viruses that originate
in animals but are known to cause
respiratory illness in humans
rarely these corona viruses can infect
people even more rarely they can spread
from person to person through close
contact Kovan 19 is a new corona virus
that has not been previously identified
in humans there is no vaccine or cure
with no vaccine and no cure it's
important to break the chain of
transmission by following Public Health
advice and measures current evidence
suggests that kovat 19 is mainly spread
from person to person
this can be between people who are in
close contact with each other less than
2 meters or 6 feet apart or through
respiratory droplets when an infected
person coughs or sneezes which can then
land in the mouths eyes or noses of
people who are nearby there is no
evidence at this time to suggest the
virus can be spread through the air
although less common Kovan 19 may also
be spread from contact
with contaminated surfaces or objects
this can happen when a person touches
something that has the virus on it and
then touches their own mouth nose or
eyes with unwashed hands virus droplets
may remain infectious for several hours
on surfaces depending on where they fall
viruses generally remain active longer
on stainless steel plastic and similar
hard surfaces than on fabric or other
soft surfaces proper hand hygiene and
cleaning and disinfecting frequently
touched surfaces can help eliminate this
type of spread the symptoms of Kovach 19
range from mild to severe like the flu
and other common respiratory infections
and can include the following fever or a
temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius or
greater new or worsening cough shortness
of breath sore throat difficulty
swallowing new smell or taste disorders
nausea or vomiting diarrhea abdominal
pain runny nose or nasal congestion
unrelated to seasonal allergies post
nasal drip and similar nasal symptoms
unrelated to any other health condition
it's important to stay up-to-date on the
symptoms of Kovach 19 please refer to
the Ontario Ministry of Health's website
for additional symptoms that can impact
children and be sure to visit York CA
regularly as new information often
becomes available you should self assess
regularly for symptoms of Kovan 19
before entering any workplace or if
feeling ill during the day if you're
symptomatic self isolate this includes
both you and your close contacts seek
assessment at AK Ovid 19 Assessment
Center connect with the appropriate
people at your workplace every business
will have its own process in York Region
there are assessment centers located at
our three hospitals Markham Stovall
Hospital in Markham Mackenzie health in
Richmond Hill and South Lake Regional
Health Center in Newmarket information
on these centers is available at York CA
/ Co vat19 if you have any severe
symptoms such as difficulty breathing or
chest pain call 911
acquired to tell anyone you've had close
contact with from 48 hours before your
symptoms started until you started self
isolating and advised them to contact
their healthcare provider to better
understand who we consider close
contacts our contact tracing team looks
at any person who meets the following
criteria and who was with the person who
tested positive for Kovac 19 within 48
hours prior to that individual becoming
symptomatic a person without personal
protective equipment or PPE who was
within 2 metres or 6 feet of a person
with kovat 19 for 10 minutes or longer
or who has come into direct contact with
respiratory secretions of a person who
has kovat 19 some examples of close
contacts can include people you live
with people that provide physical care
for you for example bathing feeding or
toileting or that you provide care for
friends you visited with intimate
partners or co-workers that you spent
time with to help break the chain of
transmission it's a good idea to keep a
journal to track your daily whereabouts
including where you went and the names
of people you interacted with for more
information or questions about Kovan 19
you can also reach out to your health
care provider
telehealth Ontario at one eight six six
seven nine seven zero zero zero zero or
York Region public health at one eight
hundred three six one five six five
three take the following steps to help
prevent the spread of respiratory
infections including kovat 19 wash your
hands thoroughly and often with soap and
water or use alcohol-based sanitizer if
you can't wash your hands cough or
sneeze into your sleeve or cover your
mouth and nose with a tissue throw the
tissue out immediately afterward and
wash your hands
avoid touching your eyes nose and mouth
with unwashed hands stay home if you're
sick
avoid sharing personal items like eating
utensils and water bottles and
frequently clean and disinfect
high-touch surfaces where physical
distancing cannot be maintained and
where no personal protective equipment
is required York Region encourages
people to wear their own non-medical
masks or face coverings
to layer cloth masks appear to not only
protect other individuals from us if we
are infectious but they may serve to
protect you from others if they are
infectious you can find more information
about face coverings on York CA face
coverings alone will not prevent the
transmission of this virus you must
continue proper hygiene physical
distancing and avoid touching your mouth
nose and eyes we've heard a lot about
physical distancing what does it
actually mean in line with federal and
provincial recommendations all Canadians
should be practicing physical distancing
behaviors to help stop the spread of
kovat 19 at work and went out in public
this includes maintaining a distance of
at least 2 meters or 6 feet from others
and taking steps to limit the number of
people you come into close contact with
some of the ways we can achieve physical
distancing include calling emailing or
instant messaging your colleagues and
using technology to meet and share
documents virtually versus in person
implementing and following physical
distancing measures for workstations
meeting rooms hallways elevators and
washrooms including one-way only travel
in narrow corridors and stairwells avoid
gathering in hallways or other areas of
buildings where 2 metres of space or 6
feet cannot be maintained York Region
has implemented and posted capacity
limits to help people navigate through
York Region facilities safely our
employees are asked to adhere to the
signage as posted this is a measure
businesses may wish to explore as well
if not already these signs can be
customized to suit your business and be
included in meeting rooms elevators and
washrooms where physical distancing may
be difficult implementing physical
distancing in hallways and stairwells
can be difficult York Region has one way
only travel signs in narrow corridors
and stairwells other options to limit
too many people in small spaces or
narrow halls is staggering staff start
and break times washing cleaning and
disinfecting is an important part of
preventing the spread of viruses like
kovat 19 the first line of defense is to
always wash your hands thoroughly and
often with soap and water for 20 seconds
don't forget to wash your wrists under
your fingernails and between your
use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when
soap and water are not readily available
this includes when you're first entering
your workplace for the day and when
you're leaving at the end of the day
cleaning and disinfecting shared spaces
is incredibly important in preventing
the spread of kovat 19 and other viruses
hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes
should be used as required each day
follow instructions when handling the
wipes and be sure to wash your hands
with soap and water for at least 20
seconds afterward at regional offices
our team has enhanced our cleaning and
disinfecting practices businesses should
do the same to help limit the chance
kovat 19 will be transmitted in the
workplace to keep workspaces as
germ-free as possible you're asked to
use disinfectant wipes on your workspace
surfaces phone keyboard and mouse in
addition to our workspace we also need
to remember to keep our mobile devices
clean turn off your device before you
clean it use a microfiber cloth and an
isopropyl alcohol based cleaner to
gently wipe your device wipe your
display screen in one direction moving
from top to bottom allow your device to
air dry before turning it back on some
cosmetic changes to finishes may occur
from cleaning your device you may wish
to contact your IT department or
manufacturer for more information
keeping your vehicle clean is an
important part of practicing good
hygiene and helping to stop the spread
of kovat 19 you can help protect
yourself and others by increasing the
cleaning and disinfection of your work
or personal vehicle be sure to clean
frequently touched areas like your key
fob door handles both inside and outside
seatbelts steering wheel gear shift
armrests dashboard and vehicle controls
when you're cleaning keep doors open to
clear out cleaning vapors and any
possible virus that may be in the air
under the Occupational Health and Safety
Act employers must take precautions to
keep workers safe including keeping them
informed creating health and safety
policies and procedures and ensuring
workers use the right protective
equipment employees concerned about the
safety of their workplaces can call the
Ministry of Labor's Health and Safety
call center at 187 7 to 0-2
zero zero zero eight at York Region the
health and safety of our employees
remains a top priority among other
practices we also have dedicated
bulletin boards at all of our locations
to display health and safety information
some of this includes health and safety
policies the rights roles and
responsibilities for workers supervisors
and employers Ministry of Labor contact
information joint health and safety
committee member details and monthly
workplace safety inspection reports it's
everyone's responsibility to adhere to
measures outlined by the federal and
provincial governments and public health
let's all do our part to keep ourselves
and others safe remember information on
kovat 19 is changing daily visit York
CAC ovid 19 regularly for the most
accurate and up-to-date information
please be sure to also visit the
provincial government's website
regularly Ontario CA as they lead
Ontario's response to kovat 19
you