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Features 24 THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Around the
world, countries are hitting their cor-
onavirus peaks and starting to grap-
ple with questions about when and
how to reopen their economies.
But those people fortunate
enough to have not lost their jobs
should be prepared for a “new nor-
mal” when they †inally go back to
work, said experts.
Here is a preview of what to
expect. Handshakes are out “in-
de†initely,” said former director of
the United States (US) Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Tom Frieden. Next, of†ices
will need to start thinking about
practical measures.
“Can we have doors that don’t
have to be opened by people?
Should we be taking the tempera-
tures of all people who enter?” he
said in a call with reporters.
No-touch hand sanitiser dis-
pensers will become common.
Steps may be taken to reduce over-
crowding in common spaces, and
computers and phones may no lon-
ger be shared.
Mask use will be encouraged,
and some workplaces may provide
them. Businesses like supermarkets
are already keeping down the num-
ber of people who can enter, plac-
ing clear plastic barriers between
employees and customers and en-
forcing physical distancing - this
could be extended to all shops, ca-
fes and face-to-face engagements.
Of†ices may also stagger em-
ployee hours and have workers
come in on different days so that
fewer people are present at a given
time - and cut meetings.
“One of the positive impacts of
COVID I hope will be fewer meet-
ings, because there are just too
many meetings,” added Frieden.
“Staying at home if you are sick
may be encouraged vs discouraged,”
said Brandon Brown, a University of
California Riverside epidemiologist.
The US has a famously brutal
work culture driven in part by the
fact there is no federally mandatory
sick leave.
As a result, people tend to
power through despite illness: an
October 2019 nationwide survey of
2,800 workers by the accounting
†irm Robert Half found that 33 per
cent always go in when sick. That
may change.
Telework may become more
common for many, especially as
people have learned during en-
forced lockdowns that it is possible.
“One thing that we found out
from this pandemic and sheltering
in place at home, is that in-person
meetings are not always neces-
sary. Virtual meetings should be an
ongoing option from here on out,”
added Brown.
The pandemic has already ex-
tracted a devastating death toll,
particularly in the hardest-hit re-
gion New York, and the onus for
providing counseling may fall to
great extent on employers.
“Don’t forget a lot of people are
gonna go back to work having lost
family members,” said Marc Wilk-
enfeld, a doctor who specialises in
occupational medicine at NYU Lan-
gone Health.
“I think the bigger companies or
even the smaller companies are go-
ing to need to address these issues,
because you do want a workforce
coming back healthy, physically
and mentally.”
Fewer meetings, more toilet lids: What
workplaces will look like after lockdowns
A commuter at Grand Central Station in New York City. PHOTO: AFP
Lead volunteer Joyce Chua is assisted by Olivia Sanderfoot as they sort medical equipment donated at a drive-up
location at the University of Washington to help „ight the coronavirus outbreak in Seattle. PHOTO: AP
Workplaces will continue to
hammer home the message to
wash hands regularly and thor-
oughly, said Brown.
Often touched surfaces will be
cleaned more frequently, but great-
er attention will need to be placed
on keeping bathrooms clean and
improving plumbing, since there is
some evidence that the coronavi-
rus can be spread via feces.
A recent Lancet paper recom-
mended “do not ignore unexplained
foul smells in bathrooms, kitchens,
or wash areas” and included tips
for improving plumbing like having
functioning U-bends that prevent
the out†low of sewage gases.
One step toward mitigating the
risk is †lushing the toilet with the
lid down, since a †lush can release
up to 80,000 contaminated drop-
lets and leave them suspended
in the air for hours if it’s not cov-
ered, according to a recent Hong
Kong study.
But many toilets in modern
workspaces lack lids - a trend that
may be reversed.
People over the age of 65 or
who have underlying conditions
like heart disease or diabetes are at
higher risk for complications arising
from COVID¡19 - and their return to
of†ices will come later.
“When people start to go back
to work, I think that it’s going to be
that not everyone goes back at the
same time,” Wilkenfeld said.
‘New normal’: distancing, masks likely needed for months
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON (AP) - Even
once the broad restrictions cur-
rently in place in Washington state
in response to the coronavirus are
lifted, health of†icials said on Tues-
day that for months to come the
“new normal” will continue to look a
lot like daily life does now: telework-
ing, physical distancing and use of
masks in public.
Health Secretary John Wiesman
said because the virus won’t be able
to be stopped or contained until
there are treatments and a vaccine,
the goal is to make sure that once
the state starts to see a decline of
cases, “that we do our best not to
spring back”.
“How we go about our daily
lives, we’re not going to return to
what we knew before COVID¡19
for many, many months,” he said.
“It’s going to be a new normal, one
that is much more aware of safety
and biosecurity.” More than 10,500
people in Washington state have
tested positive for the virus and
at least 516 have died. The virus
causes mild to moderate symp-
toms in most patients, and the vast
majority recover. But it is highly
contagious and can be spread by
those who appear healthy and can
cause severe illness and death in
some patients, particularly the el-
derly and those with underlying
health conditions.
State Health Of†icer Dr Kathy
Lofy said that statewide, things have
plateaued over the past few weeks,
and a she cited a new study by the
Institute for Disease Modeling that
showed that in three counties —
Pierce, King and Snohomish — the
rate of transmissionwas signi†icantly
reduced following the implementa-
tion of social distancing practices.
“While we are seeing some good
signs, unfortunately we are not yet
seeing a clear decline in COVID¡19
activity throughout the entire state,”
she said.
Washington state’s stay-at-home
order, which has already been ex-
tended once, is currently in place
through May 4, though Governor Jay
Inslee has warned that it is possible
the order may have to be extended
once again.
Wiesman said that while details
on how the order will be lifted are
still being worked out, there will
probably be partial easing of some
of the restrictions, including pos-
sibly businesses opening with re-
duced occupancy so that social dis-
tancing can be maintained.
“I would imagine that we would
modify some of these, hold for a pe-
riod of time and watch the data to
see if the data are saying that we’re
still stabilising or if we’re seeing any
hot spots anywhere,” he said. “It
will be, in my mind, probably a se-
ries of sequential kind of modi†ica-
tions.” On Tuesday evening, Inslee
announced new emergency orders
related to the virus pandemic to
relax deadlines in the criminal jus-
tice system, help commercial truck
drivers remain on the road, and
protect consumers.
One proclamation aims to help
consumers protect their assets, in-
cluding federal government stimu-
lus cheques, from debt collectors.
It suspends statutes that allow the
collection of consumer debt judge-
ments, including bank account and
wage garnishments and waives ac-
crual of post-judgement interest on
consumer debt judgements.
Another eases some require-
ments related to commercial driv-
er’s licences and learner’s permits
so drivers hauling goods can stay
on the road.
A third proclamation suspends
statutes of limitations for all crimes
and waives the one-year limitation
on raising post-conviction challeng-
es in criminal convictions. The order
is designed to allow more time for
prosecutors to †ile criminal charges
and more time for those convicted
of crimes to †iles challenges to those
convictions in court.
The proclamations are effective
now through May 14.