---
title: "IGA Alert: Everything you need to know about COVID-19 this week"
description: As retailers prepare for the holidays, COVID cases surge. IGA has compiled preventative measures and resources for retailers.
---

As retailers prepare for the holidays, COVID cases surge. IGA has compiled preventative measures and resources for retailers.

| View in browser IGA is here to help We're in the eighth month of active COVID-19 containment, and retailers are preparing their stores for holiday shopping while cases reach new peaks in the United States. It's a holiday season unlike any other in memory, but IGA has gathered resources to help our retailers stay safe and best serve their communities. Read on for what you need to know to protect and serve.        COVID-19 PROTECTIVE MEASURES 6 Steps to Prevent Employees & Shoppers from Infection   Follow these six steps to prevent employees and shoppers from becoming infected, which include IGA's Minimum Safety Standards and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Ensure all employees practice good hygiene.  Remind employees to avoid close contact with others, both at work and at home.  Always cover coughs and sneezes with a mask, tissue, or the inside of the elbow.  Incorporate regular cleaning AND sanitizing procedures in store.  Ask employees to monitor their health and increase staffing capabilities for backup.  Connect with IGA's resources to ensure you're up to date on the latest COVID-19 news and prevention measures. Read the detailed list, along with links to resources, here.        How to Help Employees if Someone Gets Sick   As retailers and associates remain diligent in their prevention methods, there is still a risk that you or a team member will test positive for COVID-19. We've outlined the best protocol for moving ahead should that happen in your store, including a sample press release for notifying the community. Contain the virus Communicate with employees Communicate with shoppers and the public Learn how to contain the virus and the best way to communicate the news to employees and the public in this article.        Returning to Work After Potential Exposure   The CDC advises that critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to individuals with active COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community and after surfaces used by the potentially exposed individuals in the facility are cleaned and disinfected, as described here.    Close contact (leading to risk of potential exposure) is defined by CDC as: Within approximately 6 feet of a COVID-19 case for at least 10-30 minutes Having direct contact with infectious secretions of a COVID-19 case (e.g., being coughed on) NOTE: Short term exposure, such as walking past someone who is COVID-19 positive/presumed positive, is not considered “close contact.”       6 Ways to Protect Your Mental Health in Retail   During COVID, when out-of-stocks and long hours are daily problems, normal stressors become big issues. IGA CEO John Ross offers retailers six tips to help de-escalate those issues with associates and shoppers alike. Remember that a person who is angry or upset needs to know they are being heard.  The best way to calm someone is to let them know that you care about what upsets them.  Don’t start solving problems too soon.  Sometimes, what a person is angry about can be fixed easily. But often, solutions are more complex and can't be solved in a quick conversation.  Helping others is a great strategy to improve your own mental health. Praise (where deserved) and you will be amazed how even a little effort can go a long way. Read the details of these six tips in the full article, found here.       COVID-19 RESOURCES Pandemic Forecasting Webinar Recap   Just how long is this pandemic going to last? That's the question on many Americans' minds eight months into the pandemic. It's also one of the questions that Helen Leis, Oliver Wyman's Health and Life Sciences Partner and former CDC pandemic response planner, answered for IGA CEO John Ross during a recent webinar.    Watch the webinar or read key insights on how the pandemic will continue to affect independent retailers this winter and beyond.        Stay Informed   Don't miss an update—subscribe to receive IGA Text Alerts and you’ll automatically receive a text notification whenever the IGA Alert eNews or IGA Minute are sent. Subscribe today.       Visit www.IGAALERT.com for live COVID-19 updates and how it impacts independent retailers. Sign up for text alerts here. In need of additional resources that aren't yet on IGA ALERT? Contact Ashley Page.        Follow us on Social Media. IGA Inc., 8745 West Higgins Road, STE 350, Chicago, IL 60631, United States Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
| --- |