Pandemic Preparedness

With inconsistent COVID-19 prevention guidelines being issued across different local governments, an examination of how individual businesses are implementing infection-control interventions on their own is needed. This study assessed the relative compliance of businesses with infection-control guidelines implemented to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Researchers employed an environmental/behavioral checklist to systematically record how the guidelines were followed in community areas where people congregate and risk receiving or spreading COVID-19. Early numbers show that most establishments post signs with guidelines at entrances, require masks for entry, deny entry for symptomatic individuals, and have installed protective barriers between customers and employees. There are also high rates of compliance with mask-wearing guidelines among employees. Future directions include collaboration with other universities for more robust, large-scale data collection and analyses.