2. D: Public Health and Safety Considerations

The total occupancy for indoor spaces will be limited, as a function of stages of reopening, in relation to the certificate of occupancy (see Section III.B). For example, maximum occupancy, per room location, for faculty and staff will be 25% in the Low Site Access phase (contingent on facilities and campus capacity). The Facilities and Public Safety Offices have computed occupancy standards and limitations for all spaces. However, in all cases, the number of individuals in the same location at a given time will be minimized.

Shared food and beverages will be prohibited. Individuals will be encouraged to bring food from home and reminded to observe social distancing at all times.

For researchers, initial reopening limits of the maximum occupancy for a particular research area have been determined by establishing 6 ft. social distancing limits in the labs by removing.

Faculty members who request access to the building to do scientific research in one of the laboratories are required to complete a Research Schedule. Distance markers will be posted around workstations and other common stationary work areas to promote distancing. When distancing is not feasible between workstations, physical barriers may be installed in accordance with OSHA standards; physical barrier options may include Plexiglas or similar materials, or other impermeable dividers or partitions. Barriers will be set up to establish social distancing in laboratory spaces and shared offices where appropriate. The use of shared workstations and/or laboratory equipment will be limited to the extent practicable; shared workstations or equipment will be cleaned and disinfected by the user after each use with materials provided by the cleaning services. Laboratory safety standards and FDNY Certificate of Fitness will continue to be implemented and enforced.

Unless safety or core function of the work activity requires a shorter distance, individuals will maintain a distance of 6 feet from one another at all times. Should an emergency evacuation or fire drill occur, Public Safety Officers would remind individuals to maintain safe distancing and keep wearing PPE.

The use of small spaces (e.g. elevators, staff rooms) will be restricted. The use of elevators by more than four individuals at a time will be prohibited. Occupancy must never exceed 50% of the maximum capacity of the space or vehicle, unless it is designed for use by a single occupant. Signs will be posted in elevators noting the maximum number of occupants. Signs will be posted in elevator waiting areas noting density limits and encouraging the use of stairs. Signs will be posted in stairwells to maintain social distancing and minimize two-way traffic.

Measures will be taken to reduce interpersonal contact and to limit on-site interactions. In-person gatherings such as staff meetings will be limited as much as possible. If videoconferencing or teleconferencing cannot be used and an essential in-person meeting is required, such meetings will be held in open, well-ventilated spaces with appropriate social distancing between participants (i.e., leave space between chairs, have individuals sit in alternating chairs).

Tape and signs denoting foot traffic and distance will be used in common areas to facilitate social distancing. Signs will be posted on bathroom doors to indicate occupancy restrictions; single occupancy restrooms will continue to operate as such, while larger restrooms designed with multiple stalls will be able to accommodate up to two or three individuals. Alternating sinks and stalls will be blocked to ensure individual spacing.

Signs will be posted throughout campus, consistent with DOH COVID-19 signage, and will be used to remind individuals to:

• Cover their nose and mouth with a face covering.
• Properly store and, when necessary, discard PPE.
• Adhere to physical distancing instructions.
• How they should report any symptoms or exposure to COVID-19.
• Follow hand hygiene and cleaning/disinfection guidelines
• Follow appropriate respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.

To the extent possible, ventilation will be increased in accordance with safety protocols. Non-essential amenities and communal areas that promote gathering or are high-touch will be closed to the extent possible. Designated areas for pick-ups and deliveries will be established, limiting contact to the extent possible.

All individuals on campus must wear acceptable face coverings whenever in public spaces at the college, or in laboratories, offices or other facilities where multiple occupants are present – whenever they are not working in individual spaces on campus. Individual operations (laboratories, multiple person offices, etc.) that deem that mask use will inhibit work may submit safety plans allowing individuals to remove masks while in those facilities as long as a minimum of 6 ft. distancing is maintained. All individuals (faculty, staff, students and visitors) must still wear face coverings in public spaces at all times while at the College.

***If an individual cannot don a face covering of any kind that person may not enter the campus and will receive the appropriate accommodations for remote learning, teaching, and or working as needed.

Public Safety will provide masks to any faculty, student or staff member that does not have one. Any Guttman affiliates will be permitted to use their own acceptable face coverings but will be provided with one at no cost as needed. The College currently has an inventory of 500 masks. This is enough supply to three months at current capacity. Additional mask orders will be purchased when inventory falls below 500 or expected occupancy increases.

Students entering campus for any reason are required to wear masks at all times while on campus. The College will maintain a supply of masks available on campus as needed. The College will continue working with vendors that have procurement lead times that meet our requirements. We have had no difficulty to date securing supplies.

Acceptable face coverings include but are not limited to cloth masks (e.g. homemade sewn, quick cut, bandana), surgical masks, and face shields (if used without a mask, shields should wrap around the sides of the wearer’s face and extend below the chin). However, cloth, disposable or homemade face coverings are not acceptable for workplace activities that require a higher degree of protection for PPE due to the nature of the work (e.g. if working with flammable materials or chemicals, ensure face coverings are flame resistant). Masks provided by the College will be discarded after use and will not be shared; receptacles will be placed around the facility for disposal of soiled items, including PPE. The COVID- 19 training videos will include how to don, doff, clean and discard PPE.

Measures will be put into place to limit the sharing of objects, such as equipment, machinery, materials, and vehicles, as well as the touching of shared surfaces, such as touchscreens or equipment. When such objects must be shared, individuals will be required to wear gloves or to perform hand hygiene before and after contact.

Guttman will adhere to hygiene, cleaning and disinfection requirements as advised by the CDC and DOH.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol is available for areas where hand-washing facilities are not available or practical. Hand sanitizer will be placed at the entrance/exit and elevators. Rest rooms include sinks with running water, disposable paper towels, and a lined garbage can. Facilities has soap on hand and additional sanitizer stations and refills on order. Signage will be placed near hand sanitizer dispensers indicating that soiled hands should be washed with soap and water; hand sanitizer is not effective on visibly soiled hands.

New enhanced cleaning protocols have been drawn up by the Public Safety Director and Building Management, including protocols for high-touch areas, and will be implemented as the college community returns to campus in a phased manner. Cleaning and disinfection, including restrooms, will be conducted by Building staff on a regular basis, with more frequent cleaning and disinfection for high risk areas used by many individuals and for frequently touched surfaces, using registered disinfectants on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) list of products identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as effective against COVID- 19 and following CDC and NYSDOH recommendations.

Cleaning and disinfection will be rigorous and ongoing and, when possible, will occur at least after each shift, daily, or more frequently as needed. Logs that include the date, time, and scope of cleaning and disinfection will be maintained for common areas and individual classroom and laboratory spaces.

As the college reopens in a phased approach, Facilities staffing levels will be adjusted to accommodate need to the extent possible. For the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, cleaning will be focused on the main areas that are approved for use.

The Public Safety Director (PSD) will continue to serve as the point person to direct the building staff as to the spaces that need to be cleaned after any faculty/staff or students have been in the building. The PSD will also review the cleaning logs as necessary. A log sheet has also been placed on each door in the building to ensure that a note has been made after each entry of the space that has been cleaned. The building’s facility and cleaning staff have been at the college throughout the COVID-19 pause tending to all facets of all buildings, as per usual protocols.

In the event an individual who has accessed campus is confirmed to have COVID-19, affected areas will be closed off, cleaned and disinfected. Additional cleaning and disinfection will include, at minimum, all heavy transit areas and high-touch surfaces (e.g. lab tables, elevators, facility entrances, badge scanners, restrooms handrails, equipment, door). Cleaning and disinfection will be overseen by the Director of Public Safety consistent with CDC Guidelines on “Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.”

Guttman is currently at 1% capacity and cleaning is done daily on all public spaces, hallways, elevators and stairwells. If a room was accessed by a staff/faculty member that space is notated and closed off until cleaned again. Restrooms, hallways, elevators, banisters, and the main lobby are all cleaned daily.

Faculty, staff and students requesting regular access to campus will be screened as part of the Request to Resume Activities process. Screening will document if the individual has:

• knowingly been in close or proximate contact in the past 14 days with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or who has or had symptoms of COVID-19;
• tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days; and/or
• experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

In addition, Guttman will implement CUNY’s Everbridge Solution as a daily prescreening symptom checker for entry to campus. This will be completed remotely via online link before individuals arrive in-person to campus. Only users who answer no to all the screening questions will receive an autoreply with Green path and message: “You are able to enter the school and classes. When you arrive, you will need to have this notification ready upon entering the facility.” If a student, faculty or staff member receives autoreply with Red path and message: “Unfortunately, you are not able to enter your school or classes. Your Campus COVID-19 Liaison and Campus Coordinator will be notified. Using the Mobile App find COVID-19 testing sites near you.”

Positive answers to the screening questions will be reported immediately to Coronavirus Campus Coordinator/Liaison, Director of Public Safety Anastasia Koutsidis, who will then direct the individual to go or stay home. The individual will also be advised that they will not be allowed back on a campus until they receive medical clearance or a negative COVID test. Information will be provided as to where they can get tested. A positive test result will initiate tracing and notification of NYS health authorities. The liaison will also provide daily aggregation reports to allow for case monitoring and outbreak detection.

Screening will also be performed on site at the time of facility access by Public Safety Officers. Officers will point to signage displaying a list of COVID-19 symptoms and ask if, in the past 14 days, the individual has: 1) experienced any of those symptoms, 2) tested positive for COVID-19, or 3) knowingly been in close or proximate contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or who had symptoms of COVID-19.

Temperatures will be taken using a non-contact temperature reader. If the individual answers yes to any screening question, or if temperature is 100.0°F or above, entry to campus will be denied and the individual will be referred for COVID-19 testing. If the individual answers no to the screening questions and temperature is within normal limits, the individual will be allowed entry. Officers will record name, intended location(s) and intended visit duration in a log to be maintained at that post. Guttman has maintained a log of all building entries since the campus closed in March.

Temperature checks will be conducted per U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or DOH guidelines. CDC guidance on “Symptoms for Coronavirus” will be consulted for up to date information on symptoms associated with COVID-19, and the information evaluated during screening may be updated or revised accordingly. An individual who screens positive or has a temperature above 100.0°F, which is the upper limit of normal, will not be allowed to enter the facility and will be sent home with instructions to contact their healthcare provider for assessment and testing. Public Safety will maintain a list of city and state locations for COVID-19 testing; this information will also be included on the Guttman website. All individuals wishing to gain access to campus facilities will be advised to get prophylactic COVID-19 testing done before accessing facilities, and regularly thereafter. Students, faculty and staff who have recently returned from a state on the Travel Advisory list, or from long distance or international travel will be asked upon entry to campus if they have self-isolated for 14 days and will not be able to access campus if they have not done so. In addition, students who are arriving from other states and countries will be asked to be tested.

Personnel performing screening activities, including temperature checks, will wear masks and will be supplied with gloves. No records of employee or student health data (e.g. temperature data) will be maintained, but a log will be maintained confirming that each individual was screened and the result of the screening. Individuals who have accessed campus will be advised to email their immediate supervisor if and when their responses to any of the aforementioned questions changes, such as if they begin to experience symptoms, including during or outside of work hours. All individuals will be advised to email their immediate supervisor if, within 14 days of accessing campus, the individual tests positive for COVID-19 or develops symptoms of COVID-19. Public Safety will coordinate internal data collection with Human Resources (for faculty and staff) and Student Engagement.

State and local health departments will be notified immediately upon being informed of any positive COVID- 19 test result by a Guttman affiliate or essential visitor who has accessed campus and the college will cooperate as required to trace all contacts in the workplace. Notification will be carried out by Human Resources in the case of faculty or staff, and by Student Engagement Staff in the case of students testing positive. In such situations, the state and local health department will be notified of all individuals who entered the site dating back 48 hours before the individual first experienced COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive, whichever is earlier.

Any Request to enter campus and the entry/exit logs maintained by Public Safety will enable Guttman to maintain a record of every Guttman affiliate and essential visitor who has accessed campus, and will assist in identifying individuals who may have had close contact with one another. These records will include contact information, such that all contacts may be identified, traced and notified in the event an individual who has accessed campus is diagnosed with COVID-19.

The college will cooperate with the state and local health department as required to trace all contacts in the workplace, and the state and local health department will be notified of all individuals who accessed campus dating back 48 hours before the individual first experienced COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive, whichever is earlier. Confidentiality will be maintained as required by federal and state law and regulations. State and local health departments may, under their legal authority, implement monitoring and movement restrictions of infected or exposed persons including home isolation or quarantine. Guttman will rely on the New York State initiative for contact tracing.

Individuals who have accessed campus and are alerted that they have come into close or proximate contact with a person with COVID-19, via tracing, tracking or other mechanism, will be required to self-report to the Director of Public Safety at the time of alert and shall follow the protocol referenced above.  Further, the Director of Public Safety will serve as the central point of contact for receiving and attesting to having reviewed all employees’ screening responses. The email address that should be used for anyone who will be requesting to be on campus or for individuals to inform if they later are experiencing COVID-19-related symptoms is Anastasia.koutsidis@guttman.cuny.edu

Public Safety Director Anastasia Koutsidis serves as both the Coronavirus Campus Coordinator and Liaison to Central, whose responsibilities include continuous compliance with all aspects of the site safety plan.

The college will refer to DOH’s “Interim Guidance for Public and Private Employees Returning to Work Following COVID-19 Infection or Exposure” regarding protocols and policies for employees seeking to return to work after a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 or after the employee had close or proximate contact with a person with COVID-19.