Resources and Guidance on Coronavirus Disease 2019
Updates Posted on March 13, 2020
In an effort to reduce the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) in Chicago, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has released information sheets to help businesses and residents.
COVID-19 Resources, Guidelines and Updates:
Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection
Chicago Department of Public Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Recommended strategies for businesses and employers to use now:
The following interim guidance is intended for businesses and employers and may help prevent exposures to all acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. The guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19.
- Actively encourage sick employees to stay home.
- Employees who appear to have acute respiratory illness symptoms (i.e. cough, shortness of breath) should be sent home immediately.
- Perform routine environmental cleaning.
- Advise employees before traveling to check the CDC’s Travelers Health Notices for the latest guidance and recommendations for each country to which you will travel.
Planning for a Possible COVID-19 Outbreak in Chicago
- Prepare for possible increased numbers of employee absences.
- Employers should plan to monitor and respond to absenteeism at the workplace. Implement plans to continue your essential business functions in case you experience higher than usual absenteeism.
- Cross-train personnel to perform essential functions so that the workplace is able to operate even if key staff members are absent.
- Assess your essential functions and the reliance that others and the community have on your services or products. Be prepared to change your business practices if needed to maintain critical operations (e.g., identify alternative suppliers, prioritize customers, or temporarily suspend some of your operations if needed).
- Review and update your organization’s emergency operations plan.
- Ensure the plan is flexible.
- Share your plan with employees and explain what human resources policies, workplace and leave flexibilities, and pay and benefits will be available to them.
- Share best practices with other businesses in your communities (especially those in your supply chain), chambers of commerce, and associations to improve community response efforts.
- Review human resources policies to make sure that policies and practices are consistent with public health recommendations and are consistent with existing state and federal workplace laws.
- Explore whether you can establish policies and practices, such as flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), to increase the physical distance among employees and between employees and others if state and local health authorities recommend the use of social distancing strategies.
- Ensure that you have the information technology and infrastructure needed to support multiple employees who may be able to work from home.
- Identify essential business functions, essential jobs or roles, and critical elements within your supply chains (e.g., raw materials, suppliers, subcontractor services/products, and logistics) required to maintain business operations.
- Plan for how your business will operate if there is increasing absenteeism or these supply chains are interrupted.
- Establish a process to communicate information to employees and business partners on your infectious disease outbreak response plans and latest COVID-19 information.
- Anticipate employee fear, anxiety, rumors, and misinformation, and plan communications accordingly.
- Consider cancelling large work-related meetings or events.
For more information on how workplace settings can prepare for an infectious disease outbreak, see CDC’s Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers.
For more information on Chicago’s COVID-19 response, please visit chicago.gov/coronavirus, email coronavirus@chicago.gov or call 312-746-4835.
