Dr Craig Dalton is a public health physician and conjoint professor at the University of Newcastle whose COVID-19 recommendations and guidelines have been adopted by the US government. Here's his advice ...
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WORKPLACES
- No handshaking policy
- Promote cough and sneeze etiquette (but focus is on excluding ill staff)
- Videoconferencing as default for meetings
- Defer large meetings
- Enforced sanitisation of hands at entrance
- Regular hand sanitation schedule reminders via email
- Lunch at desk rather than in lunch room
- Gamifying hygiene rules (e.g. to discourage touching face)
- Ill people stay at home and ill workers immediately isolated
- Hold necessary meetings outside in open air if possible
- Staff with ill household contacts should stay at home
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly and between users
- Work from home where possible and consider staggering of staff where there is no loss of productivity from remote work
- Consider opening windows and adjusting air conditioning
- Limit food handling and sharing of food in the workplace
- Assess staff business travel risks
- Enhance hygiene and screening for illness among food preparation (canteen) staff and their close contacts.
- Analyse the root cause of crowding events on site and prevent through rescheduling, staggering, cancelling.
SCHOOLS
- Supervised sanitisation of hands at entrance and at regular intervals
- Defer activities that lead to mixing between classes and years
- Promote cough and sneeze etiquette (but focus on excluding ill persons)
- Strict stay-at-home policy if ill
- Gamifying hygiene rules (e.g. to discourage touching face)
- Regular handwashing schedule
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly and between users
- Outdoor lessons where possible
- Consider opening windows and adjusting air-conditioning
- Enhance hygiene and screening for illness among food preparation (canteen) staff and their close contacts
- Review after-school care arrangements that lead to mixing of children from multiple classes and ages
HOUSEHOLDS
- Enhanced hand sanitisation
- Gamifying hygiene rules (e.g. to discourage touching face)
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly
- "Welcome if you are well" signs on front door
- Increase ventilation rates in the home by opening windows or adjusting air-conditioning
- Promote cough and sneeze etiquette
Households with ill members (in addition to measures above)
- Ill household members are given own room if possible and only one person cares for them
- The door to the ill persons room is kept closed
- Wearing simple surgical/dust masks by both infected persons and other family members caring for the case
- Consider extra protection or alternative accommodation for household members over 65 years or with underlying illness
COMMERCIAL, ENTERTAINMENT, TRANSPORT SETTINGS
- Sanitisation of hands at building entrance encouraged
- Tap and pay preferred to limit handling of money
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces regularly
- Avoiding crowding through booking and scheduling, online pre-purchasing, limiting attendance numbers
- Enhance hygiene and screening for illness among food preparation staff and their close contacts
- Enhance airflow and adjust air-conditioning
- Public transport workers/taxi/ride share vehicle windows opened where possible
* Dr Craig Dalton is a public health physician and conjoint professor at the University of Newcastle whose COVID-19 guidelines have been adopted by the US government.
CORONAVIRUS SYMPTOMS
Symptoms can range from mild illness to pneumonia. Some people will recover easily, and others may get very sick very quickly. People with coronavirus may experience:
- Fever
- Flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and fatigue
- Shortness of breath
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation, and we need to make sure our readers are as informed as possible.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
