Members of the Safety and Health Code Board,

As an employer in the heavy construction industry, I oppose adopting a Permanent Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention: SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19, 16VAC25-220.

I am opposed to any amendment to include other flus, viruses, colds, or other communicable diseases in any permanent standard. There is no one-size fits all plan to combat a wide variety of infectious illnesses.

The Emergency Standards are burdensome, obsolete, difficult to enforce, costly in time and money, and lack flexibility to adapt to current science and innovation. I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to the adoption of these as a Permanent Standard for what is a temporary health situation.

Thank you for the opportunity to publicly comment.  

Mike Van Sickel

Vice President

Branscome Inc.