COVID-19 Occupational Health and Safety Emergency Action Plan

About the Plan

Measures to be taken to protect against COVID-19 disease are of great importance for the healthy life of business employees, our families and close environment, guests receiving services, and the continuity of the services we provide. This emergency action plan prepared within the scope of combating the COVID-19 pandemic aims to be a guiding draft to ensure service continuity in food businesses.

Purpose

This plan is prepared to minimize the risks and effects that may occur in coronavirus and to ensure that business activities continue without interruption in case of possible workforce losses.

  • Preparations to reduce impact,
  • Personnel planning,
  • Activities to prevent transmission (use of PPE, hygiene training, use of disinfectants, etc.),
  • Activities to prevent spread (quarantine, etc.),
  • Isolation and referral to health institutions in case of illness.

Coordinator Duties and Responsibilities

  • Forms the activity plan preparation team and determines team members who will take part in preparing and implementing the activity plan.
  • Ensures coordination inside and outside the institution.
  • Plans and ensures the procurement of consumables and cleaning materials to be supplied.
  • Plans and ensures the execution of necessary drills.
  • Initiates the activity plan and informs team members.

Team Members Duties and Responsibilities

  • Contributes to the preparation of the institution's activity plan and provides opinions during preparation and implementation.
  • Performs other assigned tasks for preparations.
  • Participates in necessary drills.
  • Checks stock status of consumables and PPE required for infection control and ensures procurement according to illness rates.
  • Ensures distribution and use of consumables and PPE for infection control.
  • In case of a suspected case, performs isolation and follow-up of personnel under their responsibility according to the plan.

Teams in the Organization, Duties and Responsibilities

Names, duties, authorities, and responsibilities of the coordinator and team members will be determined by management and updated when necessary.

Definitions

  • SARS-CoV: SARS-CoV-2 belongs to a virus family known as coronaviruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). You may contract SARS-CoV-2 and not develop the disease. Many people recover without symptoms.
  • Wuhan virus: The name used in the media when the virus first emerged. 2019-ncov stands for "2019 novel coronavirus." Wuhan virus was the initial and temporary scientific name.
  • SARS-CoV-2: After genetic sequencing of the virus, it was found to be 80% similar to the SARS coronavirus, leading to the name change. It stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2.
  • Covid-19: The name of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. It stands for Corona Virus Disease 2019, the illness occurring after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the name Covid-19 on February 11, 2020. SARS-CoV-2 infections that started in China have been confirmed in Turkey and other parts of the world.
  • Pandemic: A general term for epidemic diseases spreading widely across multiple countries or continents worldwide.
  • Incubation Period: The time between exposure to a pathogenic organism, chemical substance, or radiation and the appearance of noticeable symptoms and signs.
  • Antiseptic: A chemical substance used to disinfect living tissue or surfaces from microbes.
  • Antiviral: Pharmacological agents used against viral infections.
  • Disinfection: The elimination of pathogenic microorganisms on inanimate objects.
  • Hygiene: All activities and precautions taken for a healthy life.
  • Isolation: Physical measures taken to prevent transmission of microorganisms from infected patients to others, separating contagious patients from non-infected individuals.
  • Quarantine: Separates and restricts the movement of people exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become ill. The key difference is that isolation separates infected individuals, while quarantine isolates those who may have been exposed but are not confirmed infected. For our country, quarantine means isolating a person arriving from abroad for 14 days or the person self-quarantining. Countries must have isolation and quarantine centers with different features and locations to combat such epidemics or pandemics.
  • Purpose Cleaning: Removing dirt and residues by scrubbing and washing with a detergent solution and rinsing with water. Cleaning removes most microbes and exposes remaining microbes to disinfectants used afterward.
  • Sensitive Cleaning: Reducing microbes on inanimate surfaces to safe levels.
  • Disinfection: Killing or inactivating most microbes (except bacterial spores) on any inanimate object. Note: "Microbes" include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and molds that can cause infectious diseases. Bacterial spores are dormant bacteria with protective shells that allow survival under extreme conditions for years. Spores reactivate once they enter a suitable host (like a person) to live and reproduce.
  • Risk: The probability of loss, damage, or other harmful consequences arising from a hazard; the effect of uncertainty on objectives.
  • Risk Groups:
    • Personnel aged 65 and over
    • Pregnant women
    • Those with any metabolic disease including diabetes
    • Those with chronic respiratory diseases including asthma
    • Those with chronic cardiovascular diseases
  • Risk Assessment: The necessary work to identify potential nonconformities existing in the workplace or coming from outside, analyze and grade the risks arising from hazards and factors turning hazards into risks, and decide on preventive actions.
  • Business Continuity: A set of methods developed to ensure that processes continue at an acceptable level and return to normal as soon as possible in the face of an event causing interruption or unacceptable slowdown in the products and services provided by a company to its stakeholders.
  • HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) Filter: A high-efficiency particulate air filter is an air filter efficiency standard. Filters meeting the HEPA standard must meet specific efficiency levels.
  • PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): Abbreviation for personal protective equipment. These are equipment that protect users against health and safety risks at the workplace, including gloves, helmets, eye protectors, protective clothing, protective shoes, belts, and parachute belts. Respiratory protective devices are also defined as PPE.

COVID-19 Emergency Action Plan Management Process

  1. Prevention: Taking operational measures to prevent or reduce risks that may pose occupational health and safety hazards.
  2. Preparation: Organizing necessary resources and processes to prevent occupational health and safety risks.
  3. Response and Recovery: Minimizing effects and restoring service conditions as soon as possible when an occupational health and safety risk occurs.

Draft Emergency Action Plan

  • The business owner should review and make necessary adjustments considering employees and the specific location of the business (spaces are left under headings for adding business-specific items).
  • Personnel should be informed about the Emergency Action Plan.
  • Responsible personnel for all steps and activities should be clearly defined.
  • Details for needed items should be included in the explanation section.
  • The Emergency Action Plan should be easily accessible to all employees.
  • Personnel information and tasks to be performed at defined intervals (such as regular cleaning of frequently used areas) should be documented with signed tracking sheets.
  • The Emergency Action Plan and signature sheets should be archived in the business's Occupational Health and Safety file.

The current status of the pandemic in our country should be continuously monitored from reliable sources, and necessary updates should be made to the COVID-19 occupational health and safety action plan. The activities defined above should be followed with every update.

Establishment and Duties of the Crisis Team

The COVID-19 Crisis Team will manage the global pandemic period and post-pandemic process and provide information flow to senior management. Members should include all relevant persons responsible for tracking actions related to this process in the business.

For effective combat against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in businesses, the implementation of the following headings is crucial. These measures are carried out by the occupational health and safety committee in workplaces where such a committee exists; otherwise, by the employer or their representative, workplace physician, occupational safety specialist, other health personnel, employee representatives, and if possible, personnel trained or experienced in first aid.

  • The Crisis Team will carry out work related to the measures to be taken,
  • Carry out necessary work on hygiene and cleaning in the business,
  • Coordinate internal and external communication,
  • Keep the emergency plan up to date.

In suspected cases, the team will ensure contact with the ALO 184 Coronavirus Consultation Line and the nearest hospital affiliated with the Ministry of Health to establish isolation and quarantine procedures.

The committee or preparation team is responsible for following official authorities' recommendations and information published by the General Directorate of Occupational Health and Safety and acting accordingly.

Measures to be Taken Against Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Businesses

To manage the COVID-19 global pandemic in businesses;

  • A "COVID-19 Crisis Team" should be established with backup members,
  • The crisis team manager, communication officer, and spokesperson should be appointed,
  • Besides relevant responsible persons, the crisis team should include senior management representatives, workplace physician, occupational health and safety specialist, legal advisor and/or lawyer,
  • Duties, authorities, and responsibilities of the business crisis team should be defined,
  • The frequency of crisis team meetings, working and meeting methods should be determined, and infrastructure should be provided for remote meetings (Skype, Zoom, etc.) and working from home,
  • Continuity of outsourced services should be reviewed, communication with stakeholders maintained during the crisis, and their participation ensured where necessary,
  • Reporting and monitoring processes should be defined.
  • Businesses should evaluate the crisis period in two stages.
  1. Stage 1: Practices when no case is seen in the business,
  2. Stage 2: Planning actions in case of suspected or confirmed cases in the business.

Crisis Communication Plan

The COVID-19 Crisis Team should define internal and external communication processes to ensure effective communication during the pandemic.

  • Information is obtained from experts about the cause and source of the crisis in epidemic diseases.
  • Information flow about the crisis and its effects is provided to the committee, which coordinates necessary measures and arrangements.
  • Whether any previous epidemic disease was encountered and what measures were taken and their results should be investigated.
  • POSI procedures should be implemented (if not existing, they should be created).
  • The potential effects of the crisis on the business and employees should be investigated.
  • Communication with official institutions should be maintained at a high level.
  • Guests, employees, visitors, agencies, and suppliers should be informed clearly, openly, and understandably.
  • When creating the communication plan, the Crisis Team must ensure that the information used in communication is consistent and reliable with information produced by the hygiene and sanitation management system.
  • Businesses should be able to respond to communications related to the hygiene and sanitation management system.

Risk Analysis

Identification of Risks

Businesses must consider risks related to potential infectious diseases and their transmission methods after the COVID-19 global pandemic and take necessary control measures. Existing process risk analyses and occupational health and safety risk analyses should be reviewed. COVID-19 pandemic risks should be fully identified, and risk scoring and action plans should be made according to measures the business can take.

Risk identification options include risk avoidance, acceptable risk, elimination of risk source, and the facility's financial, managerial, operational, geographical, biological, prestige, supply chain, and similar aspects related to the occurrence and consequences of the risk. Risk analysis methodology can be performed using the conventional matrix system.

Creation of Action Plans

Necessary, applicable, and realistic measures should be planned for risks defined within COVID-19 scope. These actions should be prioritized, responsible persons and teams assigned, deadlines and stages determined, required resources identified, and measures for progress evaluation established.

Examination of Opportunities

While identifying COVID-19 risks, opportunities that may create advantages for the business should be listed. Opportunities should be grouped and evaluated based on the difficulty or ease of implementation, expected gains for the business, and the degree of risks the company may face by implementing the proposal.

Business Continuity

Business continuity involves planning, establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining, and continuously improving written documents (business continuity plan) to protect against violations causing interruptions (natural disasters, fire, pandemics, etc.), reduce the likelihood of recurrence, prepare for such events, and perform necessary recovery operations.