Citizenship SAFETY AT WORK AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC The Covid-19 pandemic which spread in Europe in 2020 forced many businesses to stop their activities for a period of time. Some of them were able to make their employees work remotely; however, in factories and industrial plants this was not possible. When factories and plants were allowed to open again, it became clear that workplaces could be settings for the transmission of the virus, as outbreaks of Covid-19 had been reported in various types of workplaces and job categories. For this reason, new measures had to be established in order to protect workers from the virus. The importance of safety actions after the pandemic The actions listed above are not mandatory anymore after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, even if the pandemic is over, they have proved good habits to be maintained in order to keep workers healthy and reduce any type of virus transmission in workplaces. For example, wearing a face mask can be a good way for fragile workers to defend themselves from the risk of getting serious infections, which could become very dangerous for them. Safety measures during the pandemic National and international health organisations, such as WHO, published protocols for workplaces in order to help reduce the risks of infection and make workplaces safe. Here are some examples: workers had to wear a mask during working hours, possibly changing it every four hours. Employers had to provide workers with masks and ensure they wore them correctly; employers had to organise the working activities in order to avoid gatherings; appropriate signs indicating the safety distance between workers (at least one metre) had to be displayed on the premises; workplaces had to be correctly ventilated; if it was not possible to open windows, the premises had to have a good ventilation plant; 10 Adapted from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/ diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 read the text and decide if the statements are true or false. correct the false ones. 1. The Covid-19 pandemic spread in Europe in 2019. 11 hand hygiene was an important way of reducing virus transmission; employers had to provide sanitising gel and make sure workers used it when coming into the workplace. T F 4. Workers had to buy the masks they used at work themselves. 2. Many companies had to close down for some time. 5. Workers had to keep at a safe distance from each other. 3. Various organisations established rules for safety against Covid in workplaces. 6. Having a good air exchange prevents viruses from spreading. Pair WorK Which of the rules established during the pandemic would still be useful at school to limit the spread of flu and respiratory viruses? Discuss and share your ideas with your classmates. T F gathering: assembramento outbreak: focolaio protocol: protocollo setting: luogo to spread: diffondersi 330 aT WorK Elettronica-Informatica.indb 330 25/01/24 16:10