Getting a Handle on
COVID-19 Case Response
Ben Kollmeyer, MPH, CIH Forensic Analytical Consulting Services As more businesses reopen and the someone interfacing with your last present, and until proper number of cases of COVID-19 climb organization exhibits COVID-19 cleaning and disinfection has in the community, organizations symptoms, a positive test, or occurred. are having to navigate the has an exposure to a known or challenges, twists and turns of suspect case. This can rapidly 2. Incident Assessment. This step managing a proper response to become more complex when involves engaging an informed a known or suspected case. In trying to sort out if symptoms are individual, typically a member of this discussion we talk about the COVID-19 related or not, if testing your COVID-19 response team or fundamentals of case response in is reliable, or if a “close contact� expert partner, to take a closer non-healthcare settings and some exposure has occurred. From a look at the reported incident. of the lessons learned from the protocol standpoint, the critical The assessment tackles three front line which can inform the piece is providing simple direction issues: 1) confirming that the development of an effective and (erring on the side of caution) subject person meets the criteria efficient response protocol. to encourage the reporting of of being a known/suspected case potential cases and exposures. At or the criteria for a close-contact Case Response Fundamentals the time of reporting, immediate exposure, 2) identifying who has A COVID-19 case response protocol actions should be taken to isolate had a close contact exposure can be broken down into five basic suspected cases and potentially to the subject person, and 3) steps: exposed persons pending a more determining what areas/surfaces in-depth assessment. In addition, in the environment have been 1. Identification & Reporting. potentially impacted areas should impacted. What triggers a case response be closed to all personnel for at action? The short answer is when least 24 hours after the case was
26 | Southern California Rental Housing Association Rental Advisor September 2020
