Alberta public health officials are recommending the following actions as a precaution:
If employees have visited a Grand Princess Cruise, Iran or China’s Hubei province in the last 14 days, it is recommended they isolate themselves until two weeks have passed since that visit. This is recommended even if they are feeling well.Employees should self-isolate and call Health Link 811 for additional precautions and follow-up testing if they have travelled to anywhere outside of Canada and experienced any of the following:contact with someone who was suspected or confirmed to have the novel coronaviruswere in a health-care facilityhave symptoms, such as cough or fever
If an employee does not meet the exposure criteria above, they do not need to stay away from work, and do not need any testing or a physician’s note to attend work.
If an employee is asked to self-isolate:
Employees and employers should work together to explore alternate working arrangements. This could include:Working from home or remotelyDoing work that does not require the employee to contact other people in the community or at work.If an alternate working arrangement is not possible, employees can use paid sick time if their employer offers this.Employees may also be able to use five days of sick time without risk of losing their job with the personal and family responsibility leave, but this time is unpaid.Employers should consider their business continuity plans, and think about how the possibility of COVID-19 could impact their workplace. In order to prepare, we recommend plans are made to protect employees, limit spread in workplaces, and ensure continuity of critical services if staff are ill or self-isolating.