The purpose of this memo is to clarify COVID-19 procedures.
Close Contact Notification
- Vaccinated Employees:
- Should an employee report a close contact* exposure and has no symptoms, they can continue to work. Employee must wear a mask for 5 days after the close contact or provide a valid negative COVID-19 test.
- If an employee develops symptoms, they can return to work when all three (3) of the following criteria have been met: 5 days have passed from when symptoms first appeared, symptoms have improved, and 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- Boosted Employees:
- No quarantine is needed and should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure or provide a valid negative COVID-19 test.
- Unvaccinated Employees:
- Cal/OSHA standard – requires the removal of exposed employee for 5 days that has no symptoms and can return to work after the 5th day along with a negative COVID test.
- If the employee has developed symptoms, they must wait 5 days, and provide a negative COVID-19 test, and be symptom free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.
Regardless of vaccination status, employees who have tested positive for COVID-19, must isolate for 5 days and can return to work once symptoms have improved and wear a mask for an additional 5 days after.
Per the FDA, valid COVID-19 tests must be FDA approved and can be a PCR or antigen test. Please note, test cannot be self-administered and self-read.
*Close contact - An employee was within six feet of a COVID-19 case for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or greater in any 24-hour period within or overlapping with the “high risk exposure period.”
High Risk Exposure Period - For COVID-19 cases who develop COVID-19 symptoms, from two days before they first develop symptoms until 10 days after symptoms first appeared, and 24 hours have passed with no fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and symptoms have improved.
For persons who test positive but never develop COVID-19 symptoms, from two days before until ten days after the specimen for their first positive test for COVID-19 was collected.