COVID-19 cases occur within a specific building or work setting, it will be the responsibility of that agency’s COVID-19 Coordination Team (or a field office/agency component designee) to determine—in consultation with local public health officials—appropriate next steps. Agencies should be transparent in communicating related information to the workforce, as relevant and appropriate, consistent with local and Federal privacy and confidentiality regulations and laws.
Travel
Federal employees should adhere strictly to CDC guidelines before, during, and after travel, regardless of whether the travel is personal or for official business. At this time, these include the following precautions: carefully assessing travel risk prior to travel, wearing a mask during all portions of a trip, maintaining physical distance from non-household members, maintaining good hand hygiene by regularly washing hands with soap and water, or using alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available, and getting tested and staying home after higher-risk travel before returning to the workplace. The CDC has extensive guidelines for both domestic and international travel, and federal workers should consult these resources carefully before deciding to travel. Additional resources for official travel can be found on the GSA COVID-19 Information Site.
Employees should be aware that they may be required to stay at home for a period of time after official or personal travel (typically allowing the employee to request personal leave when it results from personal travel, if an employee is otherwise expected to be present onsite) before they are allowed to return to the workplace, as well as following any testing guidance once issued. Private transportation for official travel is preferred to use of public or other communal transportation, in combination with other safety/security guidance.
Given currently high levels of transmission in the United States, official domestic travel should be limited to only mission critical trips. International travel should also be avoided if at all possible, unless it is mission critical (e.g., military deployments, COVID-19 response deployments/activities, diplomats traveling, high-level international negotiations that cannot occur remotely). Heads of agencies should issue more specific guidance to account for the particulars of their agency’s mission, limiting official travel as much as possible.
Symptom Monitoring
If Federal employees, on-site contractors, or visitors are not feeling well, they should not enter the Federal workplace.
Federal employees and contractors working on site will be asked to regularly complete symptom screening (e.g., a symptom questionnaire, an exposure history questionnaire, a temperature check), on a daily basis or upon entry to the workplace. The agency will use this information to assess the individual’s risk level and to determine whether they should be allowed entry to the workplace. Visitors will also be asked to complete symptom screening before entering a Federal facility. In developing these tools, agencies may adapt the one used by CDC.
Agencies should also consider using mobile/web application tools to help facilitate this process.
A symptom list requiring immediate medical attention can be accessed on the CDC website here.
Any individual who develops any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 during the workday must immediately isolate, notify their supervisor, and promptly leave the workplace. The Agency should have processes in place to provide advice and support to supervisors on any related reporting or HR requirements.
