The new coronavirus, originally known as 2019-nCoV, was first detected in Wuhan City in China’s Hubei Province in late 2019 and continues to spread globally. In February 2020, 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.
Essential Resources
CDC Vaccine Toolkit Resources
The CDC has provided a toolkit to help community-based organizations and employers educate their essential workers and volunteers about this important new prevention tool. In some states, essential workers already have access to vaccines to help protect them against COVID-19. These vaccines will be available to essential workers across the nation soon.
Who are these toolkits for?
These toolkits are designed for:
- Employers of essential workers. Essential workers perform duties across critical infrastructure sectors and maintain the services and functions that U.S. residents depend on daily. Examples of the many essential workers include police officers, firefighters, and people working in education, child care centers, and grocery stores.
- The staff of organizations serving communities affected by COVID-19. These CBOs could include social service organizations, faith-based organizations, YMCAs/YWCAs, fraternities, school organizations (e.g., PTAs/PTOs), meal delivery services, senior centers, and others.
There are a variety of resources available in these toolkits that can be used virtually and in-person, including:
- Key messages
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Digital posters (printable)
- Social media messages and graphics
The CDC will continue to update these toolkits, so check back frequently for updates and new material.
Free Resources
COVID-19 Resources from AIHA
AIHA is providing the following resources, created and vetted by the AIHA member community, for public use during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tools for Healthy Schools
EPA Indoor Air Quality Tools for Healthy Schools
The EPA's Practices and Principles for Maintaining Healthy Learning Environment web series outline the best ventilation and cleaning practices for reducing the spread of viruses and bacteria in schools. Register to view them free on-demand.
Other EPA Resources:
- Indoor Air Quality in K-12 Schools: Addressing the Concept of Layered Risk Amidst COVID-19
- School IAQ Assessment Mobile App
- IAQ Tools for Schools Guidance
- IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit
- IAQ Tools for Schools Framework and Technical Solutions
- IAQ Tools for Schools Preventive Maintenance
- IAQ Master Class Professional Training Webinar Series
- IAQ Knowledge-to-Action Professional Training Webinar Series
- IAQ Tools for Schools Connector E-Newsletters and Emails
Face Coverings, Masks, & Respirators: Know the Difference
INFOGRAPHIC: Know Your Risk During COVID-19
Efficacy of face masks, neck gaiters and face shields for reducing the expulsion of simulated cough-generated aerosols
COVID-19 Professional Cleaning and Restoration Industry (5th Edition)
Respirator Fit Testing
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.
Novel Coronavirus Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit Resources
- How COVID-19 Spreads (updated with airborne transmission information)
- Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility
- Strategies to Optimize the Supply of PPE and Equipment
- Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control FAQs
- NIOSH SARS-CoV-2 and the Workplace with John Howard (recorded webinar)
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Burn Rate Calculator
- Interim Guidance for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems and 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for COVID-19 in the United States
- What Law Enforcement Personnel Need to Know About Coronavirus Disease 2019
- Updated NIOSH homepage with PPE-related content focus
- Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection Recommendations
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Hospital Preparedness Assessment Tool
- Interim Guidance for Healthcare Facilities: Preparing for Community Transmission of COVID-19 in the United States
- 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)
- Expanded Temporary Enforcement Guidance on Respiratory Protection Fit-Testing for N95 Filtering Facepieces in All Industries During the Coronavirus
- Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (Spanish)
- Prevent Worker Exposure to Coronavirus (Spanish)
- Worker Exposure Risk to COVID-19 (Spanish)
- Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce the Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus (Spanish)
- Enforcement Guidance for Respiratory Protection and the N95 Shortage Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
- Temporary Guidance on the enforcement of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard:
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
- 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)
- Vaccine Equity Declaration (and social media toolkit)
- UPDATED Guidance for Health Workers and Administrators resource center
- Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19
- Severe Acute Respiratory Infections Treatment Centre PDF (Manual to set up/manage SARI treatment and screening facilities)
- WHO Risk Communication Resources for Epidemics
- 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
Other Resources
- Cleaning and Disinfecting Efforts - To Reduce Risk of Transmission in the Workplace (Dropbox link) by HealthCare Consulting & Contracting (HC3)
- HPAE guide to spotting fake masks: Fake Face Mask Guide for HPAE Members
- NORA Manufacturing Sector Council COVID-19 Workgroup Ventilation Strategies to Reduce the Risk of COVID-19 in Manufacturing (PDF)
- AIHA, RIA, IICRC Joint Guidance Document on COVID-19 Professional Cleaning and Restoration (PDF)
- RIA COVID-19 Resource Center
- ACGIH Ventilation for Industrial Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic (white paper)
- Far UV-C in the 200 – 225 nm range, and its potential for disinfection applications (White paper from the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA))
- Operational Toolkit for Businesses Considering Reopening or Expanding Operations in COVID-19 (Johns Hopkins University)
- Why N95 Should Be the Standard for All COVID 19 Inpatient Care
- ILO issues guidance for safe, healthy, return to work during COVID-19
- N95DECON, a scientific consortium for data-driven study of N95 filtering facepiece respirator decontamination
- Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society COVID-19 Guidelines
- Personal Protective Equipment: Definition and Examples (article in U.S. News & World Report)
- 3M video guide to filtering bioaerosols by filtering facepiece respirators
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Novel Coronavirus Resources list
- FEMA Coronavirus Emergency Management Best Practices
- NYSNA Airborne Transmission of SARS Co V 2 Virus What Healthcare Workers Need to Know
- AIP Webinar: The Truth About COVID-19 (YouTube)
- AAOHN and AFCI Partner to Launch “Face Covers for Worker Safety” Initiative (PDF)
- FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization to Decontaminate Millions of N95 Respirators
- WHWB's Open Letter to the Canadian Minister of Health (PDF)
- ISA Health & Safety Update for Manufacturing Facilities free webinar (Slide deck)
- National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Coronavirus Resources for Workers
- Prediction models from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
- EACO Emerging and Existing Pathogen Cleaning Best Practices (PDF) This guideline document is not specific to COVID-19. To allow for a wider use of this Guideline it was determined that the broader term “pathogen” was more appropriate.
- Airborne Transmission of Communicable Infection (PDF)
- Restoration Industry Association, with the IICRC, releases report for restoration contractors offering disinfection services.
- Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
- How to disinfect frequently touched surfaces: free to download posters from American Chemistry's Council's Water Quality & Health Council
- 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.