BATON ROUGE - With the Trump Administration's new plan for a gradual reopening of the U.S. economy and local state leaders eyeing early May as the time to begin reopening Louisiana's economy, business owners and workers may wonder who should return to work and when. 

A similar topic broached on a Baton Rouge Area Chamber blog post may be helpful to employers as they take the health and safety of staff and clientele into consideration. 

In a featured interview with Dr. Louis R. Minsky, chief of staff for Baton Rouge General, Dr. Minsky discussed when it would be safe for someone who'd been diagnosed with COVID-19 to return to work.

He explained that the answer to this question differed, depending on whether or not the patient had displayed any of the symptoms commonly associated with novel coronavirus.

Dr. Minsky advised that anyone who had symptoms of COVID-19, was diagnosed and told to care for themselves should not return to work until:

-at least 72 hours have passed with no fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine) 

-respiratory symptoms improved; and,  

-at least 7 days passed since symptoms first appeared.  

On the other hand, a person who was diagnosed but did not display any symptoms, can be cleared to return to work when:

-at least 7 days have passed since the date of their first positive COVID-19 test, and  

-they have had no subsequent symptoms.  

In addition to this, Dr. Minsky mentioned that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that for three days after this, these individuals should maintain a 6-foot distance from others and wear a barrier mask (a bandana, scarf, or cloth mask) when around other people to limit the spread of respiratory secretions.   

Click here for more helpful tips from the CDC related to avoiding the spread of novel coronavirus.