Study up on COVID-19 Guidance for Farmworkers
October 1, 2020 By its nature, work in specialty crops, whether it is harvesting or packing crops, is an environment where people are grouped closely together. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were several outbreaks where the virus spread through various farms and packinghouses. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided guidance for agricultural workers and employers to help reduce the potential for spread.
The CDC stresses that it is critical farm employers have a COVID-19 worker safety plan that is put to paper, and also a point person(s) responsible for ensuring the plan is being followed. Here are a few key takeaways from CDC as its plan applies to workers.
Monitoring Workers
Consider screening farmworkers for COVID-19 signs and symptoms (i.e., temperature checks). Uniform policies and procedures for screening workers should be developed in consultation with state and local health officials and occupational medicine professionals.
• Screening prior to entry into the work site or, if possible, before boarding shared transportation.
• Asking workers in appropriate languages if they have had a fever (or feelings of feverishness), respiratory symptoms, or other symptoms in the past 24 hours.
• Checking temperatures of workers at the start of each shift to identify anyone with a fever of 100.4 °F or greater (or report feelings of feverishness).
• Do not let employees enter the workplace if they have a fever of 100.4 °F or greater (or report feeling of feverishness), or if screening results indicate that the worker is suspected of having COVID-19-like symptoms (see managing sick workers below).
• Encouraging workers to report symptoms immediately when onsite.
• Encouraging workers who have symptoms to self-isolate and contact a health care provider or, when appropriate, providing them with access to direct medical care or telemedicine.
Managing Sick Workers
Workers displaying potential COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival at work, or who develop these symptoms during the day, should immediately be separated from others at the workplace, sent to their permanent or temporary housing arrangements, or — when they can’t be isolated in their existing housing arrangement — be placed in alternative housing arrangements under quarantine away from other workers.
If a worker becomes or reports being sick, clean and disinfect the work area, equipment, common areas used (break areas, bathrooms, vehicles, etc.), and any tools handled by the symptomatic worker. If a worker is in employer-furnished housing, consider providing a dedicated space for the worker to recover away from others, and then clean and disinfect living quarters, cooking and eating areas, bathrooms, and laundry facilities. Do not allow other workers to use these areas until they have been cleaned and disinfected.
Social Distancing and Touchpoint Controls
Assess and identify opportunities to limit close contact with others (maintain a distance of at least 6 feet between people) if feasible. This includes owners, operators, farmworkers, supervisors, crew leaders, delivery personnel, and anyone else entering the agricultural workplace. Engage farmworkers in this assessment process.
Adding touch-free methods (i.e., touch-free time clocks and automatic doors) or rearranging work tasks can help farmworkers stay at least 6 feet away from others. Possible options may include:
• Adjusting workflow to allow for a 6-foot distance between farmworkers, if feasible.
• Installing shields or barriers, such as plastic, between farmworkers, when a 6-foot distance between farmworkers is not possible.
• Adding additional clock-in/out stations (touch-free if available) or additional time for clocking in/out to reduce crowding.
• Removing or rearranging chairs and tables or adding visual cue marks in employee break areas to support social distancing between farmworkers.
• Training workers to follow protective measures while on breaks.
• Reducing crew sizes, staggering work shifts, mealtimes, and break times, and having farmworkers alternate rows in fields to facilitate a 6-foot distance between each other.
• Placing materials (such as harvesting buckets) and produce at a central transfer point instead of transferring directly from one worker to the next.
• Grouping healthy workers together into cohorts that include the same workers each day. This can increase the effectiveness of altering normal shift schedules by making sure groups of workers are always assigned to the same shifts with the same coworkers. Effectiveness is optimized if it is aligned with shared living quarters and shared transportation. Grouping workers into cohorts may reduce the spread of COVID-19 transmission in the workplace by minimizing the number of different individuals who come into close contact with each other over the course of a week and may also reduce the number of workers quarantined because of exposure to the virus.
Click here for more information on CDC farmworker guidance on COVID-19.
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