Get the facts on coronavirus
CBC News medical contributor and family physician Dr. Peter Lin breaks down the facts about what the coronavirus is, where it came from, how it spreads, and what you can do to protect yourself. CBC/Radio-Canada is a Canadian public broadcast service.
The new coronavirus, originally known as 2019-nCoV, was first detected in Wuhan City in China’s Hubei Province and continues to spread. In February, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the virus "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2," or SARS-CoV-2, due to its genetic relationship to the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002-2003. The official name for the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 is COVID-19.
Resources that industrial hygienists and other occupational health and safety professionals may find useful during the coronavirus outbreak are collected on this page. The information will be updated as needed.
LitCovid
The National Institutes of Health now has a Coronavirus research database: LitCovid. This is a curated literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about the 2019 novel Coronavirus and is the most comprehensive resource on the subject, providing a central access to more than 1,300 (and growing) relevant articles in PubMed. The articles are updated daily and are further categorized by different research topics and geographic locations for improved access.
Respirator Fit Testing
Novel Coronavirus Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility (April 6)
- Strategies to Optimize the Supply of PPE and Equipment (April 3)
- Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control FAQs (April 1)
- NIOSH SARS-CoV-2 and the Workplace with John Howard (March 31 recorded webinar)
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Burn Rate Calculator (March 27)
- Interim Guidance for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems and 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for COVID-19 in the United States (March 27)
- What Law Enforcement Personnel Need to Know About Coronavirus Disease 2019 (March 27)
- Updated NIOSH homepage with PPE-related content focus (March 19)
- Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations (March 19)
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Hospital Preparedness Assessment Tool (March 16)
- Interim Guidance for Healthcare Facilities: Preparing for Community Transmission of COVID-19 in the United States (February 29)
- CDC’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus page links to information for healthcare professionals, public health professionals, and laboratories. A frequently updated summary of the latest developments related to the outbreak is also available.
- Resources for Businesses and Employers
- Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Confirmed 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or Patients Under Investigation for 2019-nCoV in Healthcare Settings.
- Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
- Frequently Asked Questions about Personal Protective Equipment
- Healthcare Supply of Personal Protective Equipment
- Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators
- What Healthcare Personnel Should Know about Caring for Patients with Confirmed or Possible 2019-nCoV Infection
- Interim U.S. Guidance for Risk Assessment and Public Health Management of Persons with Potential Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Exposure in Travel-associated or Community Settings
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (Spanish) (April 7)
- Prevent Worker Exposure to Coronavirus (Spanish) (April 7)
- Worker Exposure Risk to COVID-19 (Spanish) (April 7)
- Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce the Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus (Spanish) (April 7)
- Enforcement Guidance for Respiratory Protection and the N95 Shortage Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic (April 3)
- Temporary Guidance on the enforcement of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard: (April 3)
o March 14 Memo: on Healthcare Respiratory Protection Annual Fit-Testing for N95 Filtering Facepieces During the COVID-19 Outbreak
o April 3 Memo: on Respiratory Protection Equipment Certified Under Standards of Other Countries or Jurisdictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic
o April 3 Memo: on Respiratory Protection and the N95 Shortage Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic - Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (March 10)
- OSHA’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus page includes links to sources on hazard recognition, relevant OSHA standards, medical information, and control and prevention.
- 1910.134 App D - (Mandatory) Information for Employees Using Respirators When not Required Under Standard
World Health Organization (WHO)
- Severe Acute Respiratory Infections Treatment Centre PDF (Manual to set up/manage SARI treatment and screening facilities) (March 28)
- WHO Risk Communication Resources for Epidemics (March 26)
- WHO Daily situation reports (global)
- Rational use of personal protective equipment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- WHO’s Novel Coronavirus page is the source for daily updates to the official statistics concerning the size of the outbreak and countries affected.
- Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities of Healthcare Workers
- Infection Prevention and Control during Healthcare When Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) Infection Is Suspected
- Occupational Safety and Health in Public Health Emergencies
- ePROTECT Respiratory Infections (video): This two-hour online course provides a general introduction to acute respiratory infections and basic hygiene measures to protect against infection.
- COVID-19 risk communication package for healthcare facilities
AIHA Resources
- Technical Framework: A Resource for Respiratory Protection Programs
- Personal Protective Equipment for Engineered Nanoparticles Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Recovering From COVID 19 Building Closures Guidance Document PDF (March 31)
- Infographic on the proper use of respirators (March 26)
- The Role of the Industrial Hygienist in a Pandemic provides guidance for industrial hygienists on protecting general workers, healthcare workers, and management to protect workers in a flu pandemic. (Read a free sample with important checklists included.)
- Incident Safety and Health Management Handbook addresses planning and execution during various disasters response operations. It provides technical information on air monitoring, respiratory protection, and personal protective equipment, and offers guidelines for an effective response to an all-hazards threat environment.
Other Resources
- National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Coronavirus Resources for Workers (April 6)
- Prediction models from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) (March 31)
- Airborne Transmission of Communicable Infection (PDF) (March 26)
- Restoration Industry Association, with the IICRC, releases report for restoration contractors offering disinfection services. (March 23)
- Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (March 19)
- How to disinfect frequently touched surfaces: free to download posters from American Chemistry's Council's Water Quality & Health Council (March 19)
- 3M: Respiratory Protection for Airborne Exposures to Biohazards
- Council of Canadian Academies: Influenza Transmission and the Role of Personal Protective Respiratory Equipment: An Assessment of the Evidence
- The Change Foundation: Protecting the Faces of Health Care Workers: Knowledge Gaps and Research Priorities for Effective Protection Against Occupationally-Acquired Respiratory Infectious Diseases
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
The JOEH is published in both print and online to enhance the knowledge and practice of occupational and environmental hygiene and safety, advancing and protecting worker health worldwide.