Workplace risk management for SARS-CoV-2: a three-step early in-tervention strategy for effective containment of infection chains with special regards to virus variants with increased infectivity

Background Priority during the SARS-CoV2 pandemic is that employees need to be protected from infection risks and business activities need to be ensured. New virus variants with increased infection risks require an evolved risk strategy. Material and methods Several standard measures such as testing, isolation and quarantine are combined to a novel risk strategy. Epidemiological model calculations and scientific knowledge about the course of SARS-CoV2 infectivity are used to optimize this strategy. The procedure is implemented in an easy-to-use calculator based on Excel. Layout in practice and results Alternative combinations of measures and practical aspects are discussed. Example calculations are used to demonstrate the effect of the discussed measures. Conclusion That quarantine calculator derived from these principles enables even non-specialists to perform a differentiated risk analysis and to introduce optimized measures. Targeted testing routines and alternative measures ensure staff availability.