KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City-area businesses are focused on the business of reopening. Sanitizing frequently touched surfaces and keeping everyone safe is the top priority.
"Businesses should clean and disinfect their entire facility before reopening but also have a plan in place to maintain that cleaning and disinfecting protocol to ensure everyone stays as healthy as possible when they come back to work," said Michael Veldman, managing director of ServiceMaster Recovery Management.
Even as reopening phases continue, businesses are working around-the-clock to make sure their facilities are clean and safe. It's still a difficult choice for employees: go back to work and run the risk of infection, or stay home and run the risk of losing unemployment?
State leaders don't have a universal approach in place yet.
"We think it’s important not to just have a blanket ... if you get called back to work and don’t go back because you’re afraid or have an underlying condition, you won’t get unemployment," Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said. "We don’t want to approach it that way; we want to take into account individual circumstances."
When asked about businesses requiring face masks, she said, "I think that if that business owner thinks that’s the safest thing to do for his employees and customers, I won’t step in and tell them no."
Transparency will be key when doors reopen, with employers preparing and employees in wait-and-see mode.
"Employees should ask has the facility been cleaned and disinfected, and what’s the plan moving forward to clean and disinfect, whether you’re an employee or visitor, is it safe moving forward?" Veldman said.
