Management of the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the transport of industrial personnel in Morocco

<p>Monsieur Samir</p>

Management of the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the transport of industrial personnel in Morocco

Monsieur Samir

Tanger, Morocco

: J Food Nutr Disor

Abstract

The new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was identified in Wuhan, China, in early January 2020 [1]. Since the announcement of the first case of the new coronavirus, the outbreak of COVID-19 has spread at a dizzying speed. In just 03 months, the epidemic has spread to 210 countries. On March 11, 2020, WHO declared SARSCoV- 2 a pandemic and recommended that states take the necessary control and prevention measures. These measures, which depend on the strategy adopted by governments, include the closure of many public spaces, schools, universities, and other gathering places. The closure of several industrial, commercial, cultural, and sporting activities has had a serious impact on the economy. Experts predict a 3% contraction of the economy in 2020 [2] not to mention the thousands of deaths deplored daily and the inevitable burden on health systems. Businesses were affected in different ways during containment: closures, reorganizations, changes in activity. The gradual resumption of activity can help to limit the social and economic consequences of the pandemic but requires significant preparation both to achieve companies’ objectives and to preserve the health and safety of employees. While public transit is essential for resuming business activities, it presents a risk for spreading COVID-19 for the following reasons: Large numbers of people sharing the same enclosed space with limited ventilation, presence of a variety of shared contact surfaces, no screening of passengers prior to boarding, [3]. The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) published a "Practical Guide for Internal COVID-19 Health Audit" to assess companies’ compliance with the Moroccan government’s COVID-19 protocols, including those related to public transport. The CGEM guide included a dozen measures to reduce transmission during collective transport, including informing passengers about the rules using posted visual materials, ensuring the transport vehicles are cleaned and disinfected, and applying barrier measures through physical distancing and using last-in-first-out (LIFO: Last person in, first person out of the transport, the first person to get on the bus sit in the back), flow for passengers, [4]. Transportation use by large numbers of people can contribute to the direct transmission, via respiratory droplets, of COVID-19 in the presence of its predecessor, SARS-CoV-1, and to indirect transmission via contaminated surfaces [5]; as a result, transportation services must put in place health measures to protect passengers and staff safeguard business continuity. The objective of this study is first to diagnose the current situation by carrying out the audit according to the CGEM checklist. Then, the FMECA is used to launch a critical analysis of the CGEM audit checklist. A new audit checklist will be proposed following the outcome of the FMECA. Finally, the new audit checklist is being applied to a staff passport in order to assess the level of control of the health risk related to the spread of COVID-19.