Social distancing is one of the essential protocols to be followed during the Coronavirus pandemic. It prevents the disease from spreading. Thus, specialists recommend maintaining at least 6 feet distance in between. However, this protocol has created many difficulties for the people engaged in any business.

Keeping in view the demand of customers or buyers, maintaining social distancing is tough. Many industries have fired their employees for loss in business due to their closed shops and industries. Therefore, there is no other option than maintaining social distance while reopening and continuing their activities.

Social Distancing In Food production areas

To prevent COVID-19, governments all over the world recommended a few essential changes. They are stating that it is necessary to maintain distance between the food handlers working in food processing or production factories and industries. There should be approximately 6 feet distance between them.

Thus, when the changes were implemented,  conflicts occurred. Many of the businesses, especially food factories, stated that they have got plenty of workers, so it is hard to maintain distance. So, in this case, food factories should make some rules to divide the duties and separate the employees by giving them different timing to come at work.

Risk of Transmission Of COVID-19

CDC states that the risk of transmission of the virus from one employee to another employee depends on other factors too, other than maintaining social distancing. The factors include,

  • The duration of exposure
  • Employees hygiene practice
  • Employees frequent sanitization

Additionally, creating physical barriers in small spaces can help prevent the virus. The manager should review the arrangements of shifts and social interactions of the employees. Thus, maintaining social distance but not taking in view the protocols and effective hygiene can fail in preventing the virus.

Concerning health and social distance, employees should try and follow the guidelines to keep themselves safe and protect other employees too.

1.  Sharing Of Lockers By Employees

Employees should not share lockers of one another. The manager should take charge, prohibit the sharing, and ensure that employees maintain at least two meters gap when using the lockers. Furthermore, employees should possess their separate aprons and should not share them.

2.  Strict Protocols

With maintaining personal hygiene and social distancing, employees should keep all the surfaces clean and sanitized, where the food is processed or produced. The food can catch bacteria from the surface, and people will get those bacterias from the food. As the power of COVID outbreak following the geographical location. Moreover, food handlers might get infected too.

  • Different areas of the food establishment in a food factory must be washed and sanitized with hot water on a daily basis.
  • The manager should restrict face-to-face meetings with employees and try to control the activities remotely. If any meeting is necessary to be held for resolving any factory issues, then the manager should turn that meeting from home.

3.  Food Deliveries

The managers of the food factory should ensure that when food handlers leave to deliver food, they should wear clean gloves and masks. Furthermore,

  • They should deliver the parcel on the doorsteps without interacting with the customer.
  • If there is a need to interact, there should be at least a two meters gap between the food handler and customer.

4.  Factory Staff In Parking Areas

To keep the staff safe from the virus, it is more appropriate not to let them gather in the parking lot. The manager should implement the rule of only five persons at a time. Those five people can go into the parking area. This shall help a lot to prevent the virus from even touching the surface of the food factory.

Conclusion

Dealing with this pandemic situation, people working on daily wages can not sit at home and live their lives. Similarly, people handling businesses cannot sit at home and shut down their businesses.

Thus, the WHO recommended following some rules and regulations to continue to work. Firing the employees due to loss in factories and industries is not a solution to the problem. To deal with this situation, individuals must unite to follow the SOPs.

The workers of food factories and industries should take immense care of their hygiene and of the place they work in, to provide clean and hygienic food to the customers.