Omicron Checklist For Employers by CAMEO

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Enhanced Protections to Help Meet This Moment

“Whether your company already has a vaccination policy in place or not, here are steps you can take right now to protect the health of your workers and your business:

1. Make it easier for employees to get vaccinated and boosted, either on-site at the workplace or in the community, by offering paid time off for vaccinations and recovery. Make it easier for working parents to vaccinate eligible children (5 and up for vaccination; 12 and up for boosters).
   

2. Consider weekly testing for all employees, regardless of vaccination status, at in-person job sites.
   

3. Help your workers access free at-home tests. Beginning today, January 18, every home in the U.S. can order four free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests through covidtests.gov. Those tests will be completely free—no shipping costs, no need to enter a credit card number.
   

4. Help your workers navigate reimbursable home tests. As of January 15, private health insurers are required to cover the costs of up to eight COVID-19 tests per month. Make sure employees know what your health plans require of them, which may include keeping the test box, as well as receipts, or buying from in-network stores. (For workers who may not have private health insurance, employers should consider covering the cost of weekly testing.)
   

5. Support employees’ ability to quarantine for five days if they have been exposed by allowing them to stay away from others. Encourage them to wear a well-fitting mask, even after five days of isolation.
   

6. Support employees’ ability to isolate if they are sick or test positive, even if they do not have symptoms. And again, encourage them to wear a well-fitting mask, after those five days of isolation.
   

7. Implement social distancing in all communal work areas for unvaccinated and otherwise at-risk workers.
   

8. Require a mask indoors and provide workers with well-fitting masks. N95 and KN95-rated masks are the most effective.
   

9. Communicate your COVID-19 policies and procedures using accessible formats and in languages they understand.
   

10. Maintain and improve ventilation systems. Proper ventilation can be another part of your strategy to reduce the concentration of viral particles in the air.
    

11. Perform routine cleaning and disinfection. If someone who has been in the workplace within 24 hours has tested positive for COVID-19 or has COVID-19 symptoms, follow the CDC cleaning and disinfection recommendations.
    

12. Record and report COVID-19 infections and deaths to local public health authorities.
    

13. Implement protections from retaliation and set up an anonymous process for workers to voice concerns about COVID-19-related hazards.”

Key Dates For City Ordinance Requiring Proof of Vaccination

At a special meeting on December 21, 2021, Oakland City Council unanimously adopted an Emergency Ordinance requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for patrons 12 and over that takes effect February 1, 2022, at the following indoor public locations:

1. Establishments or events where food or drink is served including restaurants, bars, coffee houses, clubs, and banquet halls

2. Entertainment venues, theaters, concert venues, museums, and recreation facilities

3. Gyms, fitness centers and yoga studios

4. Senior adult care facilities and City Senior Center programs

5. City Hall

6. Large indoor events at City- and privately-owned facilities

Vaccination proof can be:

• an original, copy or picture of your vaccination card from the CDC a healthcare provider, or a government agency

• a digital COVID-19 vaccine record issued by the State of California.

• If the patron is over 18, the proof of vaccination proof should be cross-checked with a valid Photo ID.

  Important:

• By January 15, affected businesses are required to post notification posters advising patrons of this new ordinance. These are available online here.

• Impacted businesses also need to develop and keep a written record describing their protocol for implementing and enforcing the Proof of Vaccination requirements.

• This record needs to be retained for one year and made available upon request to the Alameda County Public Health Department or City staff.
  
  Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other details on the Ordinance can be found at www.oaklandca.gov/VaxOrdinance.

Update Week of December 31

NEW One year free Square Online Store Pro subscriptions (Offer Expires 2/1/2022)

If you registered for the Square eCommerce Workshop series, you are still eligible for a FREE (one calendar year) Square Online Professional Plan (valued at $144), along with a one year domain registration (valued at $12). To learn more about the plan’s features please click here. This offer is made possible through a partnership with Mastercard.

• Use this promotional link to upgrade from your current Square Online Free Plan to the Square Online Professional Plan.

• You can also find on demand replays of the programming at the links below:

• eCommerce Replay

• Payments Replay

• Spanish eCommerce

Short video on how to complete the upgrade

UPDATE: 2022 Oakland Restaurant Week has been changed to March 18th to the 27th.

• The new deadline for registration is March 4, 2022. Visit links for more info.

UPDATE: "Oakland will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms" Proof of vaccination will be required beginning Feb. 1, and also applies to bars, concert venues, senior centers, and more. See article here (Published by The Oaklandside, December 21, 2021)

UPDATE December 29, 2021: Alameda County and City of Berkeley Rescind Face Mask Amendments: Everyone Must Mask in All Indoor Public Settings.

• California's month-long indoor mask mandate goes from December 15 to January 15, 2022. See article here.

Digital Vaccine Verification "How To" Flyers: Using the California Digital Covid-19 Vaccine Record is an easier way to protect customers and your business. Follow the link here for pdf and jpg versions of California's DCVR "how to" flyers.

• Option 1 is available here.

  Option 2 is available here.

  Also included are all image and logo assets for your use as well, should you wish to customize your own flyer or digital content.

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