Avalon Council OKs disease plan for city

File photo

The City Council this week adopted an infectious disease plan for Avalon employees. 

“With all of our changing guidelines, I’m sure that will be amended many times,” said City Manager Denise Radde.

Mayor Anni Marshall chuckled.

The item was part of the Consent Calendar, which the council approved unanimously and without discussion by the council members. 

“Regulations that now requires employers to report all COVID-19 cases regardless if the exposure is work related,” according to the staff report by Radde and  Administrative Analyst Devin Hart. 

“Additionally, the new emergency regulations require employers to develop a written COVID-19 prevention plan and provide employees with personal protection equipment,” according to the Radde-Hart report.

The plan’s provisions include:

• Mandatory wearing of face masks that cover the nose and mouth.

• “Upon notice of potential COVID-19 exposure… all employees, independent contractors, and other employers present at the workplace during the exposure must be notified within one business day.”

• “All employees with potential workplace exposure will be offered COVID-19 testing at no cost.”

• “Employers shall exclude employees with COVID-19 exposure from the workplace for 14-days after the last known COVID-19 exposure to a COVID-19 case.”

• For those employees whose removal from the workforce ‘would create undue risk to a community’s health and safety’, the employer may, upon request of the local Cal/OSHA Division, allow the employee to return to work. This would include the employer developing/implementing a plan to prevent transmission.”