Purpose

This COVID-19 Safety Plan outlines the policies and procedures that have been put in place to protect employees, guests, and others entering DeVry facilities from the transmission of COVID-19.

Risk Assessment

COVID-19 is an illness caused by a coronavirus. This particular coronavirus was a new virus first recognized in December 2019, originating in Wuhan, China. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which infect animals and others that can infect humans. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.

Symptoms of the illness are similar to other respiratory illnesses including the common cold and influenza. In some cases, COVID-19 symptoms may appear to be mild but can worsen within a few days and become fatal. With research from the various variants, the related symptoms listed below are most likely related to COVID-19 than other respiratory illnesses.

Key Symptoms may include:

  • Fever and/or chills
  • Cough
  • Loss of sense of smell or taste
  • Difficulty breathing

Other Symptoms may include:

  • Sore throat
  • Loss of appetite
  • Headache and/or body aches
  • Nausea and/or vomiting

The virus, among other respiratory infections, generally spreads from person to person through liquid droplets when a person speaks, coughs or sneezes. Droplets can either be larger and heavier, falling to the ground within two meters, or smaller aerosols which are more airborne and float in the air for longer periods of time and distance. Though COVID-19 can survive on different surfaces for hours or days, the transmission rates from contact with contaminated surfaces appears to be low yet should be mitigated anyway. The risk of transmission increases the closer you come to other people, the more people you come into contact with, and the length of time you spend with other people. This is why it is critical to control these interactions in the workplace, to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

At DeVry, risk of transmission exists in the following areas:

  • Working in close proximity to others
  • Congregation areas such as lunch rooms, kitchens, meeting rooms
  • Touching high-contact surfaces (door handles, etc.)
  • Travelling in vehicles with others

Risk Reduction

DeVry has implemented the following risk-reduction strategies: Lunch Rooms:

  • Congregating in lunch rooms should be avoided as much as possible – many open-air locations have been made available for staff use to assist with this
  • When practical, breaks should be staggered
  • Employees must wash hands before and after breaks, and before preparing or eating food
  • Employees must sit at least two meters apart during break times

Production Lines

  • Production lines should be optimized to maintain a 2-meter distance between staff whenever possible
  • Seeding machines and trimmers disinfected before and after use

Work Vehicles

  • Employees should avoid travelling in vehicles with others whenever possible
  • Employees must regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the vehicles
  • If travelling in a bus, employees must be two meters apart, when possible

Foreign Worker Housing

  • High touch surface areas in the houses need to be cleaned a minimum of twice per day
  • Shared areas (kitchen, bathroom, handles, etc.) are required to be disinfected after each use
  • Cleaning products are readily available and restocked as required
  • Employees should limit congregating, especially in living rooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms

Policies

The following additional policies should be adhered to:

Symptoms or Positive COVID-19 Test Any employee displaying COVID-19 symptoms or who have tested positive for COVID-19 will be required to stay home until the following conditions are met:

  1. Fully Vaccinated: at least 5 days have passed when symptoms first started (or from the test date if asymptomatic). Face coverings should be worn even where masks aren’t required and avoid high risk environments such as gatherings for an additional 5 days past the end of isolation.

    Not Fully Vaccinated: at least 10 days have passed when symptoms first started (or from the test date if asymptomatic).
  2. No sign of fever for at least 24 hours without the use of medication that reduces fever symptoms.
  3. Symptoms have improved.

Workers in BC may be entitled to paid sick time in accordance with our Sick Pay Policy.

Masks

  • Employees are encouraged to wear masks whenever they cannot maintain a distance of 2-meters from others
  • Masks are made available to all employees who need them
  • When a mask is required to be worn, it must cover the nose and mouth

Tools

  • Where possible, each employee has been supplied with their own tools to prevent sharing
  • If items have to be shared, they must be sanitized properly before and after each use

Offices

  • In order to reduce the number of people in the offices, DeVry will work with management to accommodate work-from-home whenever practical

Meeting Rooms

  • Whenever possible, meetings should take place virtually. In the case where this is not possible, safe distance should be practiced.

Doorknobs & Light Switches

  • High-touch areas are to be disinfected on a regular basis

Timeclock Reader

  • DeVry has replaced physical time-clocks with an app-based system. In the event a time-clock is used it should be disinfected before and after use

Bathrooms

  • Bathrooms are to be cleaned and disinfected regularly

Outside Visitors

  • All visitors to DeVry properties should be limited as much as possible and must be approved by a Manager
  • All visitors are to be escorted at all times by a DeVry employee

‘Do not enter’ signs have been placed at entrances limiting access for unauthorized people – These include a phone number for couriers

Communication & Training

A copy of this COVID-19 Safety Plan will be made available to all employees and will be posted on the company website. Team Leaders will ensure all employees are familiar with it.

All employees must understand how to keep themselves and others safe, including the need to stay at home when sick, room occupancy limits, hand washing procedures, how to wear a face covering properly (when needed), who is permitted to enter the workplace, and how workers can provide feedback. Team Leaders, along with the Safety Committee, will work with all employees to ensure they are properly trained.

A copy of this COVID-19 Safety Plan is made available to all employees and is posted on the DeVry website.

Ongoing Review

The Safety Committee is responsible for implementing this COVID-19 Safety Plan through the workplace. It should be reviewed periodically for relevance and updated if necessary, especially following new Provincial Health Officer orders.

Resuming Operations

DeVry was not shut down at any point as a result of COVID-19 and no return-to-work procedures are required.

English – PDF
Spanish – PDF