The COVID-19 pandemic has forced most companies to suspend all ride sharing. However, if an unexpected need to transport a passenger, take these extra precautionary steps to protect yourself and your passenger:
1. COVID-19 ‘Full Stop’ Symptoms
- Runny nose
- Headache
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Fever
- A general feeling of being unwell
If you have these symptoms, remain in home isolation for 7 days OR until 72 hours after your fever has resolved (and symptoms get better) whichever is longer.
2. Protective Driver Actions
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.
- Consider wearing disposable gloves.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
- Ask passengers to sit in the back to create physical distance.
- Avoid any exchanges of physical items or documents.
- Have tissues and hand sanitizer available for your passengers.
3. Vehicle Disinfecting Steps
- Plan to clean and disinfect your car as often as possible—especially after you drop off passengers who appear to be sick and after every medical passenger. Pay close attention to surfaces that are touched often by passengers.
- Use a disinfectant that is pre-approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use against novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
- Wear disposable gloves when cleaning and only use them once.
4. Transporting the Sick
- Follow disinfecting steps above
- When transporting any sick passenger, wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times, both mask and gloves. Remove and dispose of PPE immediately after every ride.
- Maintain the maximum amount of distancing possible throughout the journey..
- After helping a sick passenger out of the vehicle, remove and dispose all PPE.
- When transporting a passenger known to have or suspected of having COVID-19, OSHA recommends the driver and passenger wear N-95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators, and a face shield or goggles. Distancing, described above, also applies.
- Before getting back in the vehicle,. wash your hands, put on gloves and mask, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer to disinfect all vehicle surfaces, then again, remove and dispose of all PPE.
