The city of South Bend has announced a number of measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus and protect city employees.
The city said that it is limiting non-essential work travel, allowing remote work for some employees, and taking other precautions.
“It’s important that we all take steps to protect the health and wellbeing of our residents, especially those most vulnerable to the disease,” Mayor James Mueller said.
Among the precautions being taken is limiting work-related travel.
“Employees are recommended to closely evaluate the need for travel and comply with CDC travel guidelines,” the city said in a news release. “Upon returning from a city-related work trip, employees who are able to work remotely are encouraged to do so for 3 days and to self-monitor and stay home if they develop symptoms.”
Any city employees who have traveled to Europe, China, South Korea, or Iran will be required to work remotely for 14 days. These locations are currently under a Level 3 warning from the CDC.
Regardless of whether an employee traveled outside of the country, the city is asking employees who exhibit symptoms to stay home. Other employees should take necessary precautions, including social distancing and proper handwashing.
“While city operations continue, we advise employees to heed CDC recommendations for limiting the spread of COVID-19, maintaining to the extent possible a distance of 6 feet between individuals and disinfecting surfaces daily,” the city says.
Furthermore, the city also says that it will allow remote work for “employees who are able to perform their work remotely.” However, employees will first need to receive approval from a supervisor. The city is also encouraging its employees to use virtual meetings when possible.
Lastly, the city says that it “will continue to monitor this situation closely and scale up or down our mitigation response as it evolves.”
