WASHINGTON With summer coming to a close and autumn just around the corner, public health officials are forecasting the arrival of flu season together with the more serious return of the H1N1 pandemic virus, more commonly known as the swine flu.
While the nation largely dodged the worst of the pandemic during its first appearance earlier this year, many experts are predicting that H1N1 will return this season even stronger than before.
In anticipation, the National Restaurant Association together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Ecolab are recommending steps that foodservice operators can take to help control the viruses' spread:
- Base your strategies and response on information from state and local health officials concerning the severity of the outbreak as well as on an anticipated amount of worker absenteeism in your business. Communicate your plans to employees.
- Encourage your employees to be vaccinated against the flu.
- Advise workers exhibiting flu-like systems to remain at home and not return to work until at least 24 hours after the fever has passed. Expect workers to be out for three to five days in most cases. Ensure that leave policies are flexible and not punitive.
- Flu viruses can spread from person to person through the air, so ask employees to cover their mouth and nose when they cough or sneeze. Provide tissues and other disposables for employees and customers to use.
- Reinforce personal hygiene. Advise employees to wash their hands regularly using soap and water, wipes or alcohol-based hand cleaners.
- Cross-train personnel to perform critical functions in the event that key employees are absent.
- Increase cleaning and disinfection frequency, particularly for such touch points as door handles, tables and registers. Deep clean at least three times a day during an outbreak.
- Consider closing public gathering areas like beverage and condiment dispensers, buffets, salad bars and, depending upon the severity of the outbreak, table service.
- Consider closing and offering only drive-thru service or delivery only in case of a severe pandemic, like the one that occurred earlier this year in Mexico.
For more information on the seasonal flu and H1N1, visit the NRA websites https://www.restaurant.org/fluinfo/ and https://www.restaurant.org/fluinfo/toolkit.cfm.
Contact Paul Frumkin at [email protected].
