The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety has released an online course to help organizations safely return to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As businesses and workplaces across Canada reopen their doors for workers and customers, it’s important to understand that the coronavirus will still be circulating so new infections are possible. Your return to work will not be the same as before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Pandemic Planning: Reopening for Business will guide employers, supervisors, managers and workers on how to prepare for a safe return to work, and what controls are needed to be put in place to protect everyone and minimize the impact of the pandemic.

“We know that as we start our return to the workplace and resuming activities outside of the home, things will not be as they were before the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Anne Tennier, president and chief executive officer. “Businesses and organizations are looking for information and guidance. We are providing that with this course to help minimize the spread of infection, and help employers and workers return to work as safely as possible.”

Topics covered in the course include how coronavirus spreads and its symptoms, employer and worker duties and responsibilities in a COVID-19 return to business plan, methods of control (including cleaning and disinfecting), how to manage the workplace and prepare workers for a safe return, and understanding the impacts of a pandemic on mental health.