Kohima, August 5 (MExN): In pursuance of the Nagaland State Government new consolidated guidelines on lockdown measures order dated July 31, the Principal Director Health & Family Welfare, Dr Vizolie Suokhrie has issued guidelines on safety practices in high risk settings to prevent transmission of COVID-19, as annexed, for strict adherence and compliance by all concerned stakeholders with immediate effect.
Any violation or non-compliance of this order and all other safety and preventive measures issued by the State Government from time to time in connection with COVID-19 pandemic, shall be liable to be prosecuted as per the provision of Section 21 of the Nagaland Epidemic Disease (COVID-19) Regulations 2020.
SAFETY PRACTICES
IN HIGH RISK SETTINGS
Truckers Transporting Essential Commodities:
All truckers transporting essential commodities shall observe the following:
• Entry of vehicles shall be allowed within a specific period during the day as fixed by the District Task Force (DTF).
• No passengers shall be allowed to travel in any of the trucks.
• All crew members shall be screened for fever by thermal scan at the point of entry.
• Crew member(s) with symptoms- fever, cough and breathlessness will be subjected to further medical examination.
• All crew members shall mandatorily wear face mask at all times and wash hands frequently with soap and water or with hand sanitizers.
• Dhabas and amenity providers at designated places identified by the District administration for truckers/travelers shall provide adequate dining space to ensure minimal contact, social distancing, foot-operated hand washing facilities as well as clean & hygienic toilets/washrooms.
• All crew members shall remain inside the vehicle and shall not mingle with anyone during loading and unloading of consignment.
• On completion of the loading and unloading of the consignment, the truck shall be required to proceed towards its destination immediately. Local transporters requiring to stay back must compulsorily remain in home isolation and observe safety measures.
NB:
District Task Force will facilitate availability of adequate hand washing facilities at all check points.
Taxi & Auto Rickshaw
Taxis and Auto rickshaw operators/drivers shall observe the following:
• All taxi & auto rickshaw drivers should mandatorily maintain a daily log book of all travelers with the following details: Name, Phone, date of travel.
• The driver and the passengers should mandatorily wear mask at all times. No passengers will be allowed to travel without mask worn correctly.
• Hand sanitizer should be carried at all times and all passengers must sanitize their hands before boarding.
• The driver should mandatorily carry appropriate disinfectants and periodically disinfect frequently touched surfaces of the vehicle such as doors and window handles, seats, overhead hand grips, etc.
• The vehicles should be washed daily and disinfected periodically.
• Drivers will not assemble or gather in groups at taxi/auto rickshaw stands.
• Limitation on the number of passengers will be as per existing state guideline for lockdown measures.
NB:
a. The Municipal/Town Council will ensure installation of adequate hand washing facilities- soap and running water or foot-operated alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer at the taxi stand and display adequate IEC materials (posters/ pamphlets/ flex banners).
b. The Municipal/Town Council in collaboration with concerned Union/Association of taxi & auto rickshaws will conduct orientation programme on standard preventive measure for drivers and travelers. Necessary technical support will be provided by District Task Force.
Shops including takeaway outlets:
All shopkeepers and customers shall observe the following:
• All shopkeepers shall provide hand washing facilities- soap and running water or alcohol- based Hand Sanitizer.
• Customers and shopkeepers are to wear face mask compulsorily at all times. The policy of "No Mask, No Entry" must be imposed.
• Time-bound sales/promotion offers that have the potential to draw a crowd within a limited time period is strictly prohibited.
• Frequently touched surfaces such as railings, door knobs, handles, floors, billing tables/counters etc. are to be cleaned everyday with 1% sodium hypochlorite or any other effective commercially available disinfectant.
• Any staff with symptoms of fever, cold, difficulty in breathing and other COVID-19 symptoms should not be allowed to come to work and must be reported to the District Surveillance Unit immediately.
• Shopkeepers shall discourage customers from touching commodities indiscriminately. Assistants may be put in place for the same.
• Strict physical distancing must be imposed at all times by limiting the entry of customers. The number of customers (maximum of 50% of the capacity) to be allowed at any given point of time should be mandatorily displayed by all shop owners. Smaller/medium establishments should whenever possible provide service without letting customers come inside the shop. Markings for ensuring physical distancing should be indicated wherever applicable.
• There should be no crowding at the billing counters.
• A rope/ribbon barricade/queue manager will be placed at the entrance of the shop to regulate entry of customers.
• The salesperson handling items/commodities must frequently wash hands /use hand sanitizer before and after dealing with every customer.
• In case of cash payment, customer should be encouraged to pay the exact amount to reduce physical contact.
• Management should introduce electronic transactions such as POS Card Swiping machine, mobile payment, etc to facilitate cashless transaction and minimize physical contact.
• All shops and establishments with HOME DELIVERY SERVICES must ensure the following:
a. The delivery personnel shall wear face mask and hand gloves at all times.
b. The delivery personnel will not enter the house compound or the house during delivery and shall maintain adequate physical distance.
c. The delivery personnel will carry hand sanitizer for use before and after each delivery.
d. Online payment/cashless transaction is recommended.
e. Log book of all customers with phone numbers must be maintained daily.
NB:
a. DTF may consider opening of shops on rotation (fixed days) in market places where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
b. The Municipal/Town Council in collaboration with concerned Trade Union/Association, will conduct awareness drive on standard preventive measure for the traders and their staff. Necessary technical support will be provided by the District Task Force.
Offices and Workplace including Banks and Post Offices:
Closed spaces are high risk settings for COVID-19 transmission and concerned authorities of all offices/work places must take maximum precautions and observe the following strictly:
• Workstations will be arranged with adequate physical distance between employees/workers and there should be no crowding / socializing.
• There should be adequate natural ventilation (windows, doors open for cross ventilation, exhaust fans working) in all rooms.
• Arrangements may be made for thermal screening at all points for entry.
• All persons within the office shall wear face mask at all times.
• Adequate hand washing points with soap & water/Foot Operated Sanitizer Dispensers should be available at points of entry as well as in other strategic points.
• A logbook for all visitors with NAME and PHONE number clearly mentioned should be maintained every day in all offices. Visitors should be restricted on all days.
• Opening of office canteens will be subject to state lockdown guidelines.
• Any staff with symptoms of fever, cold, difficulty in breathing and other COVID-19 symptoms should not be allowed to come to work and must be reported to the District Surveillance Unit/State Helpline 1800 345 0019.
• Surface disinfection of frequently touched surfaces should be done at least twice a day with appropriate disinfectants.
• All staff should be frequently oriented on standard preventive measures with display of adequate IEC materials (posters/pamphlets/flex banners) in strategic points.
• Staff travelling by Departmental bus should be regulated to ensure physical distancing, use of masks and other safety measures. Drivers should not assemble or gather in groups. Officers, staff who are fit to drive should avoid using the services of an attached driver whenever possible.
• All offices to the extent possible should opt for webinars and video/audio conferencing using various software tools/platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, Microsoft Teams, Demio etc. for online meetings and appointments. Every office shall designate a nodal officer for infection control to oversee proper maintenance and implementation of preventive measures. CHECKLIST FOR COVID-19- PREVENTIVE MEASURES AT WORKPLACE and OFFICES for self-assessment is given in Anncxure 2. The Checklist Score shall be produced to the Head of Office at the end of every month for necessary corrective measures. This checklist will be monitored time to time by DTF and other competent authorities.
• In addition, all Banks and Post Offices must ensure the following:
i. Customers are to wear face mask compulsorily at all times. The policy of "No Mask, No Entry" must be imposed.
ii. Staff to use hand gloves while handling bank notes/ postal letter & parcels. However, hand washing / use of sanitizer should be followed strictly after every activity.
iii. Strict physical distancing must be imposed at all times by limiting the entry of customers. The number of customers (maximum of 50% of the capacity) allowed at any given point of time should be mandatorily displayed at strategic points and should be regulated by the security. All counters, queue line (inside and outside) should have markings on the floor for physical distancing.
iv. All ATMs shall be provided with hand sanitizers by the concerned banks.
CHECKLIST FOR COVID 19- PREVENTIVE MEASURES AT WORKPLACE & OFFICES
(Score: 2 points for full compliance, I point for 50% or partial compliance and 0 for nil compliance)
|
|
INDICATOR |
POINTS |
SCORE |
|
A |
EMPLOYEES & WORK CONDITIONS |
|
|
|
1 |
There is a roster system to ensure 50% attendance of the employees and is followed by all employees. |
2 |
|
|
50% employees' attendance/roster is available but it is not followed or implemented. |
1 |
||
|
2 |
There is no roster system / all (or) no employees attend. |
0 |
|
|
All Employees use AarogyaSetu App. |
2 |
||
|
Few Employees use AarogyaSetu App. |
1 |
||
|
No Employees use AarogyaSetu App. |
|
||
|
3 |
Employees with co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, cancer & other chronic diseases are to work from home: Protection of the high risk |
|
|
|
There is a policy for high risk employees to work from home and is implemented. |
2 |
||
|
There is a policy for high risk employees to work from home but it is not implemented. |
1 |
||
|
There is no policy for high risk employees. |
0 |
||
|
4 |
Arrangement for Digital meetings / services |
|
|
|
All meetings held through VC, webinar using Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams. |
2 |
|
|
|
Mixture of online and physical meetings. |
1 |
||
|
Only Physical meetings are held. No video conferencing/online meetings. |
0 |
||
|
5 |
Arrangement to facilitate physical distancing |
|
|
|
Workstations are arranged ensuring 6 feet apart. |
2 |
||
|
Workstations are arranged at least 3 feet apart but less than 6 feet. |
1 |
||
|
Workstations are too close/congested office space. |
0 |
||
|
6 |
Adequate Natural ventilation in offices (There are enough windows, doors, exhaust fans for natural ventilation, and windows, doors are left open for cross ventilation, exhaust fans are working) |
|
|
|
There is adequate ventilation in all rooms. |
2 |
||
|
There is adequate ventilation in some rooms. |
1 |
||
|
Windows are kept closed during office hours, no exhaust fan or adequate ventilation. |
0 |
||
|
B. |
COVID 19 HYGIENIC PRACTICES |
|
SCORE |
|
7 |
Use of mask and frequent handwashing (Use of mask is effective only with hand hygiene) |
|
|
|
All staff wear mask in office with frequent handwashing/ use of sanitizer. |
2 |
||
|
Few staff wear mask in office with frequent handwashing/ use of sanitizer. |
1 |
||
|
Nobody wears mask nor do frequent handwashing / use sanitizer. |
0 |
||
|
8 |
Hand hygiene facility |
|
|
|
Hand-washing facility with running water and soap / Foot operated sanitizer is available at the entrance to the office and is used by all employees and visitors regularly |
2 |
||
|
Hand-washing facility with running water and soap / Foot operated sanitizer is available but rarely/ not used by employees and visitors. |
1 |
||
|
Office does not have the above facility. |
0 |
||
|
9 |
Thermal screening of all employees and visitors is done at the office entrance. |
2 |
|
|
Thermal screening is partially done |
1 |
||
|
No thermal screening done. |
0 |
||
|
10 |
Logbook of all visitors maintained with name and contact numbers |
2 |
|
|
Logbook of all visitors partially maintained with name and contact numbers |
1 |
||
|
No logbook of visitors is maintained |
0 |
||
|
11 |
Canteens are not open |
2 |
|
|
Canteens provide only takeaway services |
1 |
||
|
Food/ beverage is served at the canteen |
0 |
||
|
12 |
Disinfection of frequently touched surfaces twice daily |
2 |
|
|
Disinfection of frequently touched surfaces once daily |
1 |
||
|
Disinfection of frequently touched surface not done/ rarely done |
0 |
||
|
C. |
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION PREPAREDNESS |
|
|
|
13 |
A nodal officer is designated for Infection control measures in the office and is working actively. |
2 |
|
|
A nodal officer is designated for Infection control measures in the office but is not active. |
1 |
||
|
Nodal Officer for infection control is not in place. |
0 |
||
|
14 |
Policy for strict adherence for reporting and calling state health helpline for employees with symptoms like fever/cough/ difficulty in breathing, and self-isolation at home |
|
|
|
Policy in place and circulated to all employees. |
2 |
||
|
Policy in place but not circulated to all employees. |
1 |
||
|
No policy in place. |
0 |
||
|
15 |
Training on basic preventive measures for COVID-19: hand washing, use of mask, physical distancing, respiratory hygiene and etiquette. |
|
|
|
All employees are trained, updated frequently supported by documentation. |
2 |
||
|
Employees informed but not trained well nor updated frequently. |
1 |
||
|
No training held and employees are not informed. |
0 |
||
|
16 |
SOP of GON and MOHFW, GOIfor SAFETY IN WORKPLACES is |
|
|
|
Printed & circulated to all employees. |
2 |
||
|
Circulated partially to employees. |
1 |
||
|
Not circulated, employees not aware of SOP. |
0 |
||
|
17 |
In the event of detection of a positive case, the office has an action plan for self-isolation/quarantine/coordination with the DTF health department: |
|
|
|
Action plan in place |
2 |
||
|
Action plan under development |
1 |
||
|
|
No Action plan |
0 |
|
|
|
TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 34: |
|
|
|
|
PERCENTAGE(%) |
|
|
Assessment declaration format
This assessment has been done with all honesty and sincerity for the safety of all staff in office. Our office has scored ____/34 points with a percentage of______ for the month of_______ 2020.
We will ensure our safety and preventive measures around COVID-19 is continued and improved in the coming month.
Date of Assessment____________
Name of Assessor :
Designation :
Signature :
Signature of HOD :
