The Workers’ Compensation Board has issued a general guide for employers on applying the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation to severe acute respiratory syndrome (“SARS”).
Where an employer can reasonably anticipate that a worker has or may have occupational exposure to SARS (e.g. hospital workers), the employer must implement an exposure control plan. The plan must identify workers at risk, develop safe work procedures and provide adequate education and training.
Other employers, such as schools and airports, may have to conduct a risk assessment and implement controls if it can be reasonably anticipated that workers will be dealing with individuals ill with SARS.
The WCB’s current position is that there is no undue hazard to a worker’s health in working with or near individuals who may have travelled from affected SARS areas in the Far East, provided those individuals are not ill and show no signs of SARS.
(click here for a copy of the guideline)