Symptom and body temperature checks, physical barriers to maintain social distance between employees and visitors and improved ventilation are key steps to reopening office buildings safely, according to the CDC.
On May 27, the CDC laid out recommendations for employers, building owners and managers to reopen office buildings in a way that ensures the safety of those in the buildings.
The CDC suggests beginning the process by t making sure the building is ready for occupancy, including checking whether ventilation systems are working properly and identifying work areas that could increase risks for COVID-19 transmission.
The agency also recommends modifying workplaces to ensure that safe social distance can be maintained. This could include signs, tape marks or other visual cues to indicate where people need to stand to maintain 6 feet of social distance. In situations where social distancing is not an option, offices should consider placing transparent shields or other physical barriers to separate employees and visitors.
Several recommendations regarded employee health. Workplaces should encourage employees who have symptoms of COVID-19 or who have a family member at home with COVID-19 to stay home, the CDC said.
Daily in-person or virtual health checks, such as symptom and body temperature screenings, should be considered for employees before they enter the workspace, as well as staggered shifts, start times and break times, the federal agency said.
Offices should also routinely clean all frequently touched surfaces, including workstations, keyboards, telephones, printers and doorknobs.
For the full list of recommendations, click here.