COVID-19 Surge Employer Town Hall 1/24/22 Presentation Slides Video Recording
Report Cases to Public Health with the SPOT Intake Form (English) (Spanish)
Employer Vaccination Toolkit
If you are interested in offering the COVID-19 Vaccine to your employees, please email HSAC19vaccineclinics@santacruzcounty.us with the name of your organization, preferred contact information, and number of employees interested.
Increase ventilation and filtration Due to the airborne nature of COVID, nentilation is very important. Ventilation and filtration replaces air that contains the virus with cleaner air. Whenever possible:
Restrict the use of breakroom and other common areas: The COVID-19 virus can build up in poorly ventilated rooms with multiple people. Avoid eating in breakrooms, if possible.
Consider surveillance testing: Weekly or more frequent test can help identify COVID-19 cases before people begin showing symptoms or are asymptomatic. Testing options include:
Cal/OSHA’s Model COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP) With some exceptions, all employers and places of employment are required to establish and implement an effective written COVID-19 Prevention Program (CPP) pursuant to the Emergency Temporary Standards in place for COVID-19 (California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 8, section 3205(c). Cal/OSHA has developed this model program to assist employers with creating their own unique CPP tailored to their workplace.
Create a secure list of positive COVID-19 employees, including, at minimum, symptom onset date, positive test date, job site, and last date worked. Public Health has created the spreadsheet below to help you keep track of this important information. You will need to submit this form to Public Health if/when you meet the minimum threshold of positive cases.
Ensure that the positive individuals stay at home throughout the duration of their isolation period. See California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) guidance on isolation and quarantine.
Notify remaining employees of possible exposure to COVID-19, in accordance with the new requirements set forth in AB 685 (Labor Code section 6409.6).
Conduct an internal investigation to determine which other staff (including vendors and suppliers) that might have been in close contact with the positive individual during the exposure period. Notify these close contacts of their exposure and follow CDPH isolation and quarantine guidance.
You will need to collect information about the close contacts as well, and therefore we encourage you to add this information to the same Contact Tracing Form linked in Step 1.
If you meet the reporting threshold set for your workplace setting, complete the SPOT Intake Form online to report the cases to Santa Cruz Public Health. If you do not meet the reporting threshold but still want to connect with Public Health for guidance, you can still use the SPOT Intake Form (linked above) to submit a report. After the form is complete, you may be contacted by a member of Public Health’s Workplace Investigation Team to determine if further investigation is warranted.
Technical Note: Mobile devices and operating systems are not supported on SPOT. It is best to use a desktop or laptop. If neither is available, please contact Public Health at (831) 454-4242 or email HSACD@santacruzcounty.us.
Businesses overseen by Environmental Health (i.e. food facilities, public pools, body art, or organized camps) should also report the cases directly to Env.Hlth@santacruzcounty.us.
Any serious injury, illness, or death occurring in any place of employment or in connection with any employment must be reported by the employer to the local Cal/OSHA district office immediately. For COVID-19, this includes hospitalizations and deaths among employees, even if work-relatedness is uncertain. To speak with a bilingual Cal/OSHA representative during normal business hours, please call 833-579-0927. Cal/OSHA prefers calls by phone but will also accept email reports (caloshaaccidentreport@tel-us.com). More information on the Cal/OSHA website.
Concern about loss of income is a major obstacle to isolation and quarantine compliance. The links below explain the benefits and paid leave options that your employees may be entitled to or otherwise have available to them.
The County’s Vaccine Webpage provides a wide range of information about vaccines and includes links to additional helpful resources. Employees interested in vaccination should sign up for MyTurn.ca.gov to be notified about their eligibility. Once eligible, they can use VaccineFinder.org to find clinics, pharmacies and other locations offering the vaccine. If you are interested in offering the COVID-19 Vaccine to your employees, please email HSAC19vaccineclinics@santacruzcounty.us with the name of your organization, preferred contact information, and number of employees interested. If you have additional questions about vaccines, please contact the Call Center at (831) 454-4242.