Social distancing is critical to containing the spread

Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer for Washington state, said coronavirus case counts continue to grow throughout the state, partly to do with an increased testing capacity. COVID-19, the coronavirus, has been encountered in “most” of Washington’s counties, she said. 

Lofy urged frequent environmental cleaning if your businesses are open and said employees should telecommute if possible. Social distancing is the only tool that we have right now to slow the spread of the virus, she said. 

If one of your workers has a confirmed case of coronavirus, contact your local health department. Sick employees can use an online telehealth advisory tool. 

Even if an employee has mild symptoms, he or she should stay home from work. If an employee does test positive for the virus, the employee needs to stay home for at least seven days and at least three days after their fever has broken and their symptoms have significantly improved, she said.  

It is still recommended that employees who had close contact with anyone confirmed to be infected with the virus have two weeks of quarantine as well.