COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 Resources Last Updated: 05-29-2020

COVID-19

COR

COVID-19

BC Centre for Disease Control
- COVID-19 Information
BC COVID-19 App
- iPhone
- Android
Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council
- Information and Tips on COVID-19
Canadian Agriculture Safety Association
- COVID-19 Resources
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
- Pandemic (COVID-19) Tip Sheets
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
- COVID-19 Resources
Equine Guelph
- Caring for Your Horse During a Pandemic
Farm Safety Nova Scotia
- 10 Ways to Manage Respiratory Symptoms at Home
Government of Canada
- How to Isolate at Home When You Have COVID-19
HealthLink BC
- Common Questions about COVID-19
Public Health Agency of Canada
- COVID-19 Overview
Wali Canada
- General Information
WorkSafeBC
World Health Organization
- General Information
- Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations During COVID-19 Outbreak

Bell Let's Talk
- COVID-19 Tips and Resources
BounceBack
- Online Support for Mental Wellness
Canadian Red Cross
- Psychological First Aid Pocket Guide (PDF)
Crisis Services Canada
- COVID-19-Resources
Do More Ag
- General Information
Government of British Columbia
- Virtual Mental Health Supports During COVID-19
Government of Canada
- Tip For Working From Home
Mental Health Commission of Canada
- COVID-19 Resources
MindSkills Canada
- Coping With a Pandemic
National Farmers Union
- General Resources
University of Guelph
- 8 Domains of Well-Being - COVID-19 Style
Wellness Together Canada
- Mental Health and Substance Use Support

Employers are required to provide workers with appropriate respirators wherever workers are exposed to hazardous substances in the air. This includes gases and vapours, dusts, fibres, mists, fumes and bioaerosols.

Different hazards require different types of respirators, so it is important to choose the right respirator for the breathing hazards in your workplace. Some respirators must also be fitted with the correct filter or cartridge in order to be effective.

Before a worker may use a respirator, they must be fit tested to ensure contaminated air cannot leak into the respirator and be inhaled. During the COVID-19 pandemic, AgSafe is not conducting fit testing services. However, some companies in British Columbia are still offering fit testing service for a fee.

If an employer wishes to conduct fit tests for their own employees, they must have an approved fit testing kit available from safety equipment suppliers and be trained on how to use the kit and conduct the test.

Basic instructions on fit testing is available by watching the 3M YouTube videos below. For more information contact your AgSafe advisor or consultant.

Respirator Fit Testing Providers

Respirator Train the Fit Tester (TFT) training providers:
Respirator Fit Test providers: QUALITATIVE
- Hazmasters
- Freebird Safety Services
- Irwin Safety (Throughout BC)
- OK Audio Lab (Okanagan)
- OHandS Canada (Langley and Kamloops)
- Levitt Safety
- Nutech Safety (Kamloops and Kelowna)
- First aid Kelowna
- Vancouver First Aid
- Link to Life First-Aid (Vancouver)
- ABC First-Aid (Nanaimo)
- Jade First Aid (Smithers)
- Interior Workplace Compliance Testing
- BC Fit Testing
- Lotus Environmental BC
- Keltech Safety
Respirator Fit Test providers: QUANTITATIVE
- Pacific Rim Safety
- Levitt Safety

Download Checklist

Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Application Checklist - Updated (05-14-2020)

Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Application Checklist Documents

This table contains all of the documents available in the checklist above as well as resources in additional languages.

#	Question	Link
Q1.	I have downloaded and read the Province of BC's COVID-19 requirements, Protecting BC Farmers and Farm Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.	GovBC: PHO - Guidance Farms & Farm Workers English
Q2.	I have completed a COVID-19 workplace Risk Assessment (RA) of my farm operation	Risk Assessment Tool English (WORD) English (PDF) English (SAMPLE)
Q3.	I have created a COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Protocol (IPC)	Risk Assessment Tool English (WORD) English (PDF) English (SAMPLE)
Q4.	I have signage in place in the appropriate language on how workers can protect themselves from COVID-19.	Safety Notice for Workers English Spanish
Q5.	I have someone identified (COVID-19 Coordinator) that workers can go to if they have questions on COVID-19.	COVID-19 Coordinator Sign English Spanish
Q6.	Common areas allow physical distancing of 2m / 6ft at all times.	No Document
Q7.	Beds in the right configuration with the right distance apart.	No Document
Q8.	I understand what is needed for a person to self-isolate.	GovCDN: How to Isolate at Home English Spanish Other Languages
Q9.	I have separate accommodation to let a worker self-isolate away from other workers or have arranged for separate accommodation.	Self Isolation Protocol English
Q10.	I have laundry services available for regular use.	No Document
Q11.	I have disposable gloves for the handling of garbage or there is access to hand hygiene facilities either through hand hygiene stations or the provisions of hand sanitizer.	No Document
Q12.	I have a waste removal schedule.	Waste Removal Schedule English Spanish
Q13.	I have sturdy, leak resistant garbage bags.	No Document
Q14.	I have an adequate number of hand washing sinks available to workers	No Document
Q15.	There is an appropriate supply of warm water for all sinks.	No Document
Q16.	I have provided plain soap.	No Document
Q17.	I have provided disposable paper towels.	No Document
Q18.	I have put up signs to promote regular hand washing.	Hand Washing Poster English Punjabi/English Spanish
Q19.	I have sleeping arrangements that maintain physical distancing or use physical barriers.	No Document
Q20.	I have physical barriers like face shields or masks for situations where physical distancing is not possible.	No Document
Q21.	I have a schedule to ensure common and high touch areas are cleaned or disinfected at the start and end of each day.	Enhanced Cleaning: TFW Living Area Schedule English Spanish
Q22.	I have materials ready on the risk of exposure of COVID-19 and the signs and symptoms of the disease.	Safety Notice for Workers English Spanish
Q23.	I have materials ready on hand washing, physical distancing, and cough/sneeze etiquette.	Safety Notice for Workers English Spanish
Q24.	I can provide locations of hand washing facilities, including dispensing stations for alcohol-based hand rubs.	Location of Hand Wash Facilities English Spanish
Q25.	I have materials ready on how to seek first aid.	First Aid Contact Sign English
Q26.	I have materials ready on how to report an exposure to or symptoms of COVID-19 (to COVID-19 Coordinator)	COVID-19 Coordinator Sign English Spanish
Q27.	I have schedules in place for kitchen/eating areas to limit contact and maintain 2 metre physical distancing.	Kitchen Rules Sign English Spanish
Q28.	Each worker has their own dishware, utensils and drinking cup or provided disposable alternatives (no sharing)	Kitchen Rules Sign English Spanish
Q29.	Used dishware will be washed immediately.	Kitchen Rules Sign English Spanish
Q30.	I have the facilities to promptly separate and self-isolate the individual from others in their own accommodation	No Document
Q31.	I am prepared to provide individuals exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 with a surgical/procedural mask or tissues to cover their mouth and nose.	No Document
Q32.	I am prepared to direct the person to call HealthLinkBC (8-1-1).	COVID-19 Coordinator Sign English Spanish
Q33.	I am prepared to clean and disinfect any rooms that the person has been in while symptomatic.	Cleaning: Symptomatic Workers English Spanish
Q34.	If commercial accommodation is being used to self-isolate, then I will inform management of the situation and necessary requirements.	No Document

COR

All COR activities/audits must follow the safety and hygiene practices outlined for COVID-19 by public health agencies (i.e. physical distancing, PPE, etc.)

Information for COR Certified Employers

COR Guideline Information Published By WorkSafeBC on: March 30, 2020

WorkSafeBC’s Certificate of Recognition (COR) team is working with certifying partners (CPs) like AgSafe BC to support employers with your 2020 COR audit requirements during the COVID-19 outbreak.

2020 Audits

New certifications

All new 2020 COR employer certifications need to follow the standard processes and auditing requirements.
- If this is not possible, you are requested to defer pursuing COR certification until the usual auditing requirements can be satisfied.

Re-Certification:

Audits that have been completed or are in progress
- Completed audits will be processed as usual.
- Audits that are underway must follow the practices outlined by public health agencies (e.g., physical distancing during interviews).
Audits not yet started for employers with COR certifications that expire by August 31, 2020
- If you are a COR Certified Employer who will not be able to complete the certification audit, you can apply for a “2020 audit waiver.”
  - To apply:
    - Contact AgSafe to ask for the waiver
    - AgSafe will complete and submit the 2020 audit waiver form to WorkSafeBC on your behalf
    - WorkSafeBC will reply to AgSafe with appropriate approvals
    - AgSafe will contact you to outline next steps
- If approved, WorkSafeBC will issue a one-year COR certificate(s) from the date of the original certificate expiry.
Audits for employers with COR certifications that expire between September 1 and December 31, 2020
- At this time, WorkSafeBC is planning to continue as usual with certificates that expire after September 1, 2020. However, this will be continued to be monitored and adjusted (per WorkSafeBC) as necessary.

Maintenance Audit (M1 and M2)

Maintenance audits can be performed at any time of the year, as long as they are completed before December 31.

Audit Questions

To help determine if an audit is still practicable and to see the preventative measures you can take when conducting an audit, please visit WorkSafeBC’s COVID-19 information and resources or AgSafeBC's COVID-19 Resources.

If you have questions about your audit, please contact AgSafe at cor@agsafebc.ca

For all safety related questions, please contact your local AgSafe Regional Safety Consultant or Advisor, or contact@agsafebc.ca

Next Steps

We will continue to work with WorkSafeBC to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak and adjust our processes to ensure we follow the guidance from public health agencies. If you have questions, please contact cor@agsafebc.ca

COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19

Links:

Respirator Fit Testing Providers

Download Checklist

Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Application Checklist Documents

COR

Information for COR Certified Employers

2020 Audits

New certifications

Re-Certification:

Maintenance Audit (M1 and M2)

Audit Questions

Next Steps

Documents

Risk Assessments & Infection Prevention & Control Protocols

Signs

Videos

New Worker Orientation (English)

New Worker Orientation (Spanish)

French Resources

Punjabi Resources

Spanish Resources

Vietnamese Resources