Across the country provinces are announcing the need for businesses to move to more long-term thinking regarding COVID-19.
As we move from treating this like a pandemic, to treating it like other infectious diseases, our protocols and processes need to change too.
This is not to say that the safety protocols and reporting criteria will disappear, but we are now, or shortly will be, in a position where those processes need to address the larger, long term challenge of managing infectious disease in the workplace, not treating COVID -19 like a pandemic only issue.
So what is an IDP? An IDP provides guidance to the organization on managing situations that include naturally occurring outbreaks of infectious diseases (not just COVID) and is a strong tool in communicable disease prevention. Remember that it is the responsibility of all employers to provide reasonable measures to protect their staff from workplace hazards, including occupational illness and communicable disease.
Many provinces have included the requirement or recommendation for employers to have an infectious disease plan as part of their re-opening strategies.
Heading into the close of the quarter is a great time to review your current situation and begin this new documentation process in order to either meet your provincial mandate or be proactive in addressing the issues associated with Infectious Disease, especially heading into the fall.
Of course we provide our subscribers with a comprehensive Infectious Disease Plan template and guidance so if you would like to know more about this and other services that we provide to our dealership partners, please email us at info@dealerpilothr.com.