Okaloosa County BOCC — December 2, 2014 — 10.29.14 Guidance for Businesses with Employees Returning from Countries — reading text

Guidance for Businesses with Employees Returning from Countries Currently Experiencing an Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease Contents This document provides guidance for businesses with employees returning from countries currently experiencing an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD); http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/. Introduction • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security's Customs & Border Protection (CBP) have begun entry screening at five U.S. airports that receive all travelers from the Ebola-affected nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Trained CBP staff will observe travelers for signs of illness, ask them a series of health and exposure questions and provide health information for Ebola and reminders to monitor themselves for symptoms. Trained medical staff will take their temperature with a non- contact thermometer. • If the travelers have symptoms or the health questionnaire reveals possible Ebola exposure, they will be evaluated by a CDC quarantine station public health officer. The public health officer will again take a temperature reading and make a public health assessment. Travelers, who after this assessment, are determined to require further evaluation or monitoring will be referred to the appropriate public health authority. • Travelers from these countries who have neither symptoms/fever nor a known history of exposure will receive health information for self-monitoring. • The CDC will distribute contact information for these screened passengers to the state they are residing in, or traveling to, via Epi-X. • Upon receiving the notification, the Florida Department of Health (DOH), Bureau of Epidemiology, will immediately distribute passenger lists to the county health departments (CHDs) of residence for monitoring as described below. • Please refer to the Interim Guidance for Monitoring and Movement of Persons with Ebola Virus Disease Exposure for recommendations for conditional release and controlled movement of persons potentially exposed to EVD. 1 Version 2.0 29October2014 What businesses should do: Notification of local CHD for returning employees • To ensure that DOH is aware of persons returning from the Ebola-affected countries by all conveyance types, businesses should notify the local county health department that an employee will be returning from the impacted country and supply contact information including name, telephone numbers, address, and email address. In addition, businesses should also provide the CHD with estimated arrival date and date employee left impacted country. • The CHD will make contact with the person(s) on the list and conduct an in-person risk assessment on their date of arrival in Florida using the DOH EVD risk assessment algorithm 3.5. • An airline employee (pilot or crew) that during the course of travel never left the airport grounds and never stayed overnight in an impacted country OR a employee on a ship who never disembarked from the ship while in an impacted country AND have had no contact with a known or suspected EVD case will not be monitored for 21 days. However, employees should self-monitor and if they develop any symptoms report this to their local CHD. • Definition of employee risk categories o Low risk: Employee returning from Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone who did not have contact with a known or suspect EVD case in the past 21 days. o High risk: Any direct contact or within 3 feet for ≥ 15 minutes of a known or suspect EVD case in the past 21 days regardless of the absence/ use and type of personal protective equipment. • The employee should be provided a 24/7 phone number to contact appropriate CHD staff. • Employees that are considered low or high risk will be monitored by the local CHD for 21 days as identified in the CHD Guidance-Traveler Monitoring document. If you have any additional concerns or questions please contact your local CHD or the Florida Department of Health at 850-245-4401. Additional Considerations: In most cases, low risk employees are able to carry on with day to day activities, although the individual circumstances of each person should be considered. Factors that may prevent someone from returning to daily activities during the monitoring period include their ability to quickly seek immediate medical attention if they develop symptoms, number of daily close contacts, and risk of transmission. 2 Version 2.0 29October2014