Worksite Exposures

When you learn of a confirmed COVID-19 case at your workplace, identify any contacts who may have been exposed and notify Berkeley Public Health. If three or more employees test positive, notify Berkeley Public Health immediately (within 1 business day).

This page provides a summary of the contact investigation and reporting process. Find detailed instructions in our worksite exposure toolkit for employers:

When notified of a case at your worksite

When you learn an employee has tested positive, perform an investigation, make a list of contacts, and report results to Berkeley Public Health.

1. Identify who may have been exposed

   When an employee tests positive for COVID-19, you’ll need to perform an investigation to identify anyone who may have been exposed.

   Review the employee’s schedule and work location to determine who they have had close contact with during their infectious period. When conducting your investigation, remember to review time spent in shared spaces, such as break rooms, and contact with non-employees, such as customers or vendors. For the purposes of the investigation:

   • Close contact 
     • In indoor spaces 400,000 or fewer cubic feet per floor (such as home, clinic waiting room, airplane etc.), a close contact is defined as sharing the same indoor airspace  for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three separate 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes) during an infected person's (confirmed by COVID-19 test or clinical diagnosis) infectious period
     • In large indoor spaces greater than 400,000 cubic feet per floor (such as open-floor-plan offices, warehouses, large retail stores, manufacturing, or food processing facilities), a close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of the infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the infected person's infectious period
   • Exposure dates
     • If the employee has symptoms of COVID-19, the infectious period begins 2 days before symptoms first appeared
     • If an employee tested positive without symptoms, review their interactions for their last two days at the worksite

2. Report to Public Health

   Report all exposures via the Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracing (SPOT). Be sure to select Berkeley as the Local Health Jurisdiction.

   Once entered, someone from City of Berkeley will respond via email or phone within 1 business day.

3. Notify employees

   Notify any employees you have identified as potentially being exposed. Exposed employees should be instructed to get tested 3-5 after last exposure to the infected employee. A template of this letter is available in the Worksite Exposure Toolkit.
   
   Do not disclose the name of the employee who has tested positive.

4. Provide testing opportunities

   You are required by Cal/OSHA to offer COVID-19 testing during working hours to employees who had a potential COVID-19 exposure. This testing must be available to employees at no cost.

   Please note that a negative test is not clearance to return to work. Positive employees should only return to work after they have met the criteria to return to work.

Outbreaks (3 or more cases)

If you learn of 3 or more confirmed cases among employees, contact us immediately and arrange for testing for all employees.

Report all exposures via the Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracing (SPOT) then call (510) 981-5292 or email cobcd@cityofberkeley.info with the subject line “Berkeley Worksite Exposure - possible outbreak.”

Berkeley Public Health will ask for the following information. Please have as much of this available as possible when you report - but do not delay reporting an outbreak if you are missing any of these documents:

• Case and Contact information will be entered by the employer into SPOT database (COB will send the employer a link with instructions upon report of an Outbreak)
• A site map with the workspace of the cases and/or symptomatic employees noted
• Written COVID-19 Prevention Plan
• Vaccination status (including booster doses) of impacted employees

A Berkeley Public Health investigator will contact you and provide guidance on next steps.

Refer to Cal/OSHA for additional recommendations and guidance.

Last updated October 14, 2022