H E A LT H & S A F E T Y
Health and
Safety in
the Time of
COVID-19
What alcohol producers need to know
about workplace safety
By Candice G. Ball
Although the COVID-19 pandemic caught the world off
guard, occupational safety and health professionals have
been planning for a pandemic their entire careers. Long
before the novel zoonotic coronavirus jumped from an animal to a
human in Wuhan, China, in 2019, epidemiologists and health and
safety professionals knew an outbreak could happen at any time.
All provincial health and safety acts include sections that
cover biological agents and influenza pandemic guidelines. The
global outbreak of COVID-19 has put the efficacy of provincial
health and safety acts to the test – and best practices and protocols
continue to evolve as more is understood about COVID-19.
“We’ve always had regulations that have dealt with biological
hazards such as influenza and SARS. There wasn’t a need to create
something new,” said Mike Nielsen, prevention field services
manager at WorkSafeBC. “What we did do was sit down with
employers and employees from different industries to develop
COVID-19 protocols for those sectors.”
From coast to coast, all employers must have COVID-19
protocols in place to protect their employees and customers. There
are sector-specific resources such as Beer Canada’s “Guidance to
Help Canadian Brewers Manage COVID-19” and the Canadian
Manufacturers & Exporters’ “COVID-19: Social Distancing in the
Manufacturing Workplace: Protocols and Guidelines,” but it is
also prudent to know the provincial requirements and draw from
government resources as well.
Photos courtesy of Lake of the Woods Brewing Company
FALL 2020 § POURED CANADA § 43