What you need to know if your employee has a suspected case of Covid-19

At Eve Anderson Recruitment, we provide HSE guidance to clients and colleagues in the business community in Trinidad and Tobago.

As of Sept 1, 2020, here is a checklist you can print and circulate to your staff.

It is essential during these uncertain times that employees maintain and monitor their health.

Medical Emergency Response to Covid-19

The following procedures will apply for a Suspected Case of COVID-19:

  • Employees must notify their Managers immediately if they are presenting symptoms of COVID-19:
      • Fever
      • Cough
      • Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
      • Loss of smell and/or Loss of taste
      • Chills
      • Muscle aches
      • Sore throat
      • Headache
      • Diarrhea
      • Nausea/vomiting
      • Runny nose
  • Employees should contact their Doctor and/or the Ministry of Health, if they exhibit any of the symptoms related to COVID-19.
  • If an employee comes into contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive or suspected of being COVID-19 positive, they must report this to their employer.
  • The employee must be directed to go and get tested.
  • They can get tested at a public or private testing facility.
  • When the employee is tested, they will be given a Quarantine Form along with instructions on how to quarantine at home.
  • A Surveillance Nurse will be designated to contact that employee every day to ensure they are at home and that their symptoms have not progressed.
  • When they receive their results, if it is negative, they will be instructed to go and collect a Fit to Work from the facility they tested at.
  • The employee must present their Fit to Work to their employer before returning to work.

If your employee has a confirmed case of COVID-19:

  • If it is positive, the facility will notify the Government who will take over the case.
  • Testing facilities are mandated to report all COVID-19 test results to the Government.
  • The employee must report to their employer that they have tested positive so that the employer can begin their own form of contact tracing and put steps in place to safeguard their employees, customers, and business.
  • The Government will decide if the employee can quarantine at home or if they need to be placed in a government quarantine facility and will being contact tracing.
  • Through their contact tracing, the Government should contact the Employer and give instructions on how to proceed and / or the Employer can contact the Government to notify them that their employee tested positive.
  • Exposed employees (coworkers who would have directly interacted with the infected employee) would be considered primary contacts and would need to go into quarantine at home and get tested.
  • The business would be required to close to undergo sanitization by a professional company.
  • The business can reopen with new personnel / with personnel who were not exposed to the infected employee, unless otherwise instructed.
  • Any persons who are placed in quarantine whether at home or at a facility, must present a Fit to Work to come back to work.

If you would like to get some advice about HSE for your office or for your employees at home, please contact Melanie Gregory, HSE Advisor at mgregory@eaastaff.com or +1 868 627 8233

Download: Workplace Safe Reminders for your office here