Reopening During Coronavirus: How to Stay Safe, Secure and Compliant

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all aspects of daily life — from how we conduct business to how we interact with others. To preserve public health and minimize the spread of COVID-19, many businesses and organizations around the world had to close their physical locations.

Now, as state and local governments begin allowing businesses to reopen, the steps you take to protect employees’ and customers’ health are more important than ever. Let’s take a closer look at how businesses can safely respond to the coronavirus.

How Are Businesses Responding to Coronavirus?

Some organizations have opted to keep their physical locations closed and switch to a work-from-home model. Other businesses have reopened their facilities gradually, following national and local guidelines.

Businesses reopening during the coronavirus need to plan ahead and implement policies to keep workers and guests safe. Here are six steps you can take to resume operations while preventing the spread of the virus.

1. Comply With Occupancy Regulations

In the United States, individual states have developed their own guidelines for reopening businesses. To comply with new regulations, you may need to limit the people allowed inside to a fraction of your building’s maximum occupancy.

To track occupancy accurately and remain in compliance, consider installing occupancy sensors. These devices count people as they enter and exit your building. You could also switch to remote video monitoring to limit the number of people working on-site without sacrificing security.

2. Develop a Cleaning Plan

The virus that causes COVID-19 takes hours to days to die on infected surfaces. As a result, it is important to disinfect objects that people interact with frequently, such as countertops, tables and payment systems.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends businesses frequently clean objects touched by multiple people using disinfectants approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Make sure to keep the cleaning solutions you need on hand in reasonable quantities.

3. Use Security Technology to Enforce Wellness Standards

To keep employees and customers safe, you need to ensure everyone wears a face covering and follows social distancing whenever possible. Security technology can help you enforce your site’s wellness standards efficiently. Facial recognition systems powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can now check for the presence of a mask, and camera analytics can serve as a force multiplier for site management personnel.

4. Install Frictionless Access Control Systems

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 from infected surfaces, you should reduce the need for employees and guests to interact with door handles and access systems. When connected to electric door openers or elevator cabs, touchless access control systems verify identity and provide access with no contact required. You can also install biometric security solutions that measure unique human characteristics to allow access.

5. Screen Employees for Symptoms of COVID-19

Health screenings serve as an optimal strategy for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in the workplace, according to the CDC. To protect your staff, you should send home any employee who displays symptoms of COVID-19, such as a high temperature, sore throat or new cough.

Consider installing thermal cameras or investing in health status checkpoints to streamline the screening process and limit the amount of contact potentially infected individuals have with other staff members.

Are You Planning to Reopen Your Business?

When you take steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in your facility, you keep your business in compliance with state guidelines and help protect your community. At Peace of Mind Technologies, we can develop, install and service a security system tailored to your facility’s unique COVID-19 concerns. Get started by speaking with a security specialist today.