There have been 11 COVID-19 outbreaks in veterinary clinics across the state of Illinois.
Five of these outbreaks have occurred in September and October.
These outbreaks with most complete information indicate that staff members are being affected, not clients.
In some of these situations staff were working while ill.
Given the increase in COVID-19 cases occurring across the state this is a good time to review with staff measures that will reduce the risk of COVID-19 within your workplace.
1. Encourage staff to get vaccinated for influenza to reduce the risk of adverse health consequences from influenza and time off work and to prevent developing respiratory symptoms from influenza that can be confused with COVID-19.
2. Review your COVID-19 plan and make sure you are still following your plan in regards to social distancing, masking, cleaning and disinfecting and minimizing contact with clients.
3. It is critically important that staff wear masks, and to the extent possible stay 6 ft from other employees. This may not be possible in every situation given the need for restraint of animals for procedures and the size of the clinic but it is very important to minimize the number of staff that are in close contact with each other. Clinics can maintain multiple “pods” of employees who work together routinely so that if an outbreak occurs in one pod, the other pod will hopefully not be close contacts to the positive employee(s) and can still work.
4. Diligent hand washing and cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces is also recommended.
5. It is best if staff check their temperatures prior to coming to work and that each staff member call their supervisor prior to coming to work if they have any concerns about symptoms due to COVID-19.
6. Ensure that staff know NOT to come to work if they have symptoms of COVID-19 even if they have symptoms and are sure their symptoms are due to allergies or other respiratory illnesses. We know of many examples where someone believes their symptoms are due to allergies but instead they are diagnosed with COVID-19. It is best to seek medical attention and testing if someone has illness that may be COVID-19 before returning to work.
- Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, diarrhea and/or vomiting.
7. If an employee tests positive then follow the local health department instructions about how long to isolate a person who has tested positive.
- For a symptomatic person, the isolation period is 10 days plus 24 hours fever free plus feeling better.
- For an asymptomatic person who has tested positive it is 10 days after the positive test.
8. For persons who have been in close contact with a COVID-19 case, quarantining (and staying away from work) for 14 days if they stay asymptomatic is the safest option. If they become ill then they must follow the isolation period for a symptomatic person. A close contact is defined as someone who has been in contact with a case within 6 ft for 15 minutes or more within a 24 your period. The infectious period for a case is the period starting from 2 days prior to illness onset or 2 days prior to test collection if asymptomatic, through the 10 day isolation period.
9. Remind employees that their adherence to COVID-19 measures outside the office is also critical to reducing the risk in the workplace. A close contact, even if they stay asymptomatic, may wish to be tested at least 5 days after their exposure to see if they have a positive COVID-19 test.
10. If you are unfortunate enough to have an outbreak in your practice call your local health department to alert them to the situation and cooperate with contact investigations.
11. Make sure you are also protecting your clients when they bring their pet to your practice or when you go out to them to work on their animals. Social distancing and masking are critical.
12. The AVMA link provides information on pets and COVID-19.
Some helpful links:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/covid-19
Connie Austin, DVM, MPH, PhD, DACVPM
State Public Health Veterinarian
Illinois Department of Public Health
Phone: 217-782-2016