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 About two weeks ago, the World Health Organization called for more
scientific study into airborne transmission of COVID-19. The move
raised awareness of an issue excluded from U.S. government
back-to-work guidelines, adding to the challenge of keeping people
safe in offices, stores and work sites, these consultants said.
Many companies devised strategies based on WHO guidance that large
respiratory droplets of the virus could infect people when first
emitted and after they landed on surfaces. Now the concern over
infection is focused on the idea that tiny droplets could linger in
the air for hours.
Companies are reviewing if they have gone far enough with policies
on mask-wearing, sealing off conference rooms and upgrading
ventilation systems. Some, like retailers who have installed
plexiglass barriers in their stores between cashiers and customers,
are wondering what else they can do if the larger droplets those
barriers aim to contain are just one piece of respiratory
transmission, consultants said.
Neal Mills, chief medical officer at healthcare benefits group Aon,
began fielding questions last week about the WHO’s decision to
investigate aerosol transmission, and said employers were slowing
the return of remote workers back to their offices.
"They are doing due diligence around how are you going to reduce the
transmission of the virus in light of the proposed aerosol nature of
COVID-19,” Mills said.
The slowdown comes as some employers, such as Texas energy companies
Halliburton Co and Chevron Corp, had already begun delaying plans to
bring back office workers due to rising coronavirus cases.
Employers are asking whether public health recommendations that
individuals remain 6 feet apart and wear masks to limit transmission
through large droplets are enough.
They also wonder about air conditioning systems that do not have
filtration systems and the effectiveness of plexiglass partitions
against a virus floating in the air, said David Zieg, a lead
consultant on clinical services at Mercer, another healthcare
services companies.
Consultants are advising employers to go beyond their existing
plans, which may also include temperature checks, health
questionnaires and frequent restroom cleanings.
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“The concept here is risk reduction. It’s not 100%. You add in all the little
things you can to reduce the risk,” Zieg said.
Months after U.S. companies sent all but essential workers home due to the
global new coronavirus pandemic, many are still struggling to bring their
workforce back.
For some employers, the cost of not putting in effective precautions goes beyond
that of workers missing days while they are sick. There are concerns about legal
liability and healthcare costs, many of which are paid for by large employers.
Some corporations moved early and began integrating the possibility of airborne
transmission of COVID-19 into their plans as evidence began emerging of
transmission at indoor bars and restaurants.
General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV maximized
ventilation in their manufacturing facilities before restarting production on
May 18 because of the potential for aerosol transmission, the companies said.
But others are more than halving the number of workers they bring back to the
office to 10 percent of staff and rethinking how many people can safely ride in
an elevator or attend an in-person meeting, Willis Towers Watson health practice
co-leader Jeff Levin-Scherz said.
“Once you start limiting how many people can be in a conference room, the
imperative to bring some types of workers back to the office, if they have to
attend meetings virtually anyway, is much lower,” Towers Watson’s Levin-Scherz
said.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York, additional reporting by Ben Klayman in
Detroit; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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