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New restrictions: Santa Clara County businesses must close employee break rooms
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Michael Ejercito
Jan 4, 2021, 9:39:05 PM1/4/21
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http://www.kron4.com/health/coronavirus/new-restrictions-santa-clara-county-businesses-must-close-employee-breakrooms/amp/
New restrictions: Santa Clara County businesses must close employee
break rooms
Bay City News and Dan Thorn
1 day ago
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (BCN) – Santa Clara County health officials
kicked off 2021 by adding new restrictions on businesses — they must now
close their employee break rooms.
While officials said they had issued previous “guidance” on break rooms,
an earlier version of the county’s directive did not include any
language about closing indoor employee break rooms.
According to the changes, made on Dec. 31, businesses in Silicon Valley
must “prohibit personnel from using any indoor break rooms or break
areas for eating or drinking” — even if they’re alone at the time.
Employees can access cafeterias and break rooms only to use appliances
such as coffee makers, refrigerators or microwaves. They can store or
heat up food, but cannot eat it inside the breakroom. County officials
recommend eating lunch in the car, the safest option.
Employees can use break areas for legally-protected purposes, such as
lactation.
“Eating indoors in a break room is one of the highest-risk activities
during this pandemic because break rooms are usually small with poor
ventilation, and face coverings must be removed in order to eat,” the
county wrote in an updated FAQ document.
“Employee break rooms have proven to be one of the most common causes of
workplace COVID-19 transmission.”
Health care facilities and hospitals are exempt from this rule. Any
businesses that cannot close their indoor break rooms must appeal to the
county for an exception and come up with a safety plan, such as
staggering employee breaks or creating an outdoor break area. They also
must increase ventilation in the room and regularly disinfect high-touch
surfaces.
The county previous advised employees to wear masks in break rooms,
maintain six feet of distance, remain seated, minimize conversations and
eat outdoors “whenever possible.”
The new rules come as Santa Clara County confronts an alarming spike in
COVID-19 cases, straining area hospitals.
As of Dec. 31, the county recorded 69,870 cumulative COVID-19 cases and
709 deaths. Those figures reflect an increase of 2,507 new cases and 36
new deaths in recent days.
The county reported 681 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and
officials said only 28 ICU beds are left.
Access to COVID-19 vaccines is limited and slow. The county has received
more than 94,805 COVID-19 vaccines so far, but they’re rolling them out
in tiers with a priority on health care workers.
Officials reported administering 500 shots this week at a new clinic to
fire department personnel, EMTs, critical care transport nurses and
paramedics on air ambulances.
Meanwhile, health officials are urging people to continue getting tested
— especially if they’ve been exposed during the holidays.
For people without COVID-19 symptoms, the county is offering indoor and
drive-through sites. Those who have symptoms should use drive-through
sites to prevent infecting others.
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel through the vaccinations that
have begun,” said Santa Clara County COVID-19 Testing officer Marty
Fenstersheib.
“But that in no way means we can let our guard down. The positivity rate
is tenfold what it was just two months ago – COVID-19 is more prevalent
in the community than ever before. Anyone who believes they may have
been exposed should quarantine and get tested.”
For a full list of free testing sites, including new ones opening next
week in Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Cupertino, Campbell and Palo
Alto, visit https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/covid19-testing.aspx
Copyright © 2020 by Bay City News, Inc.
New restrictions: Santa Clara County businesses must close employee
break rooms
Bay City News and Dan Thorn
1 day ago
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (BCN) – Santa Clara County health officials
kicked off 2021 by adding new restrictions on businesses — they must now
close their employee break rooms.
While officials said they had issued previous “guidance” on break rooms,
an earlier version of the county’s directive did not include any
language about closing indoor employee break rooms.
According to the changes, made on Dec. 31, businesses in Silicon Valley
must “prohibit personnel from using any indoor break rooms or break
areas for eating or drinking” — even if they’re alone at the time.
Employees can access cafeterias and break rooms only to use appliances
such as coffee makers, refrigerators or microwaves. They can store or
heat up food, but cannot eat it inside the breakroom. County officials
recommend eating lunch in the car, the safest option.
Employees can use break areas for legally-protected purposes, such as
lactation.
“Eating indoors in a break room is one of the highest-risk activities
during this pandemic because break rooms are usually small with poor
ventilation, and face coverings must be removed in order to eat,” the
county wrote in an updated FAQ document.
“Employee break rooms have proven to be one of the most common causes of
workplace COVID-19 transmission.”
Health care facilities and hospitals are exempt from this rule. Any
businesses that cannot close their indoor break rooms must appeal to the
county for an exception and come up with a safety plan, such as
staggering employee breaks or creating an outdoor break area. They also
must increase ventilation in the room and regularly disinfect high-touch
surfaces.
The county previous advised employees to wear masks in break rooms,
maintain six feet of distance, remain seated, minimize conversations and
eat outdoors “whenever possible.”
The new rules come as Santa Clara County confronts an alarming spike in
COVID-19 cases, straining area hospitals.
As of Dec. 31, the county recorded 69,870 cumulative COVID-19 cases and
709 deaths. Those figures reflect an increase of 2,507 new cases and 36
new deaths in recent days.
The county reported 681 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and
officials said only 28 ICU beds are left.
Access to COVID-19 vaccines is limited and slow. The county has received
more than 94,805 COVID-19 vaccines so far, but they’re rolling them out
in tiers with a priority on health care workers.
Officials reported administering 500 shots this week at a new clinic to
fire department personnel, EMTs, critical care transport nurses and
paramedics on air ambulances.
Meanwhile, health officials are urging people to continue getting tested
— especially if they’ve been exposed during the holidays.
For people without COVID-19 symptoms, the county is offering indoor and
drive-through sites. Those who have symptoms should use drive-through
sites to prevent infecting others.
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel through the vaccinations that
have begun,” said Santa Clara County COVID-19 Testing officer Marty
Fenstersheib.
“But that in no way means we can let our guard down. The positivity rate
is tenfold what it was just two months ago – COVID-19 is more prevalent
in the community than ever before. Anyone who believes they may have
been exposed should quarantine and get tested.”
For a full list of free testing sites, including new ones opening next
week in Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Cupertino, Campbell and Palo
Alto, visit https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/covid19-testing.aspx
Copyright © 2020 by Bay City News, Inc.
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Jan 4, 2021, 10:10:48 PM1/4/21
to
exempt medical facilities from this rule.
elsewhere is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) finding
out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who among us
are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) in
order to http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12) for them to call
their doctor and self-quarantine per their doctor in hopes of stopping
this pandemic even in the worst-case scenario of the "UK variant
mutations" **and** others like the South African & "cluster-5 mink
mutations" (read more via Google) rendering current vaccines
ineffective.
Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://bit.ly/EternalMedicalLicense
2016 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://bit.ly/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
Michael Ejercito
Jan 5, 2021, 10:01:09 AM1/5/21
to
Michael
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Jan 5, 2021, 12:01:36 PM1/5/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
> I am wonderfully hungry!
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://bit.ly/HeartVAT
from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://bit.ly/HeartVAT
from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
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