Worksite Exposures

When you learn of a COVID-19 case at your workplace, identify and notify any contacts who may have been exposed. You are encouraged, but not required, to report to the City of Berkeley.

If 20 or more employees test positive within a 30-day period, notify Cal/OSHA immediately.

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, identify exposures, and notify contacts.

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
  • Offices, suites, rooms, waiting areas, break or eating areas, bathrooms or other spaces that are separated by floor-to-ceiling walls are considered distinct indoor airspaces
    Note that rooms with floor to ceiling walls are not to be counted as part of any larger indoor space
• 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 the City of Berkeley
   
   You are encouraged, but not required, to 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 as soon as possible.
    
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
   
   Do not disclose the name of the employee who has tested positive.
    
4. Provide testing opportunities
   
   You are required by CalOSHA 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, investigate and arrange for testing for all employees.

You are encouraged to report all cases via the Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracing (SPOT). The City of Berkeley 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
• A site map with the workspace of the cases and/or symptomatic employees noted

A City of Berkeley representative will contact you and provide guidance on next steps.

Refer to Cal/OSHA for additional recommendations and guidance.

MAJOR OUTBREAKS (20 OR MORE CASES)

If you learn of 20 or more confirmed cases among employees, investigate, arrange for bi-weekly testing, and notify Cal/OSHA immediately.

You are encouraged to notify City of Berkeley via SPOT, phone (510) 981-5292, or email cobcd@cityofberkeley.info with the subject line “Berkeley Worksite Exposure – possible major outbreak.”

Refer to Cal/OSHA for additional recommendations and guidance.

Last updated March 13, 2023