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Note: On April 12, 2024, President Biden revoked the 2021 executive order that had established the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force. As a result, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force no longer exists and this website will no longer be updated. This website is preserved as it existed on April 12, 2024, for archival purposes only.

Symptom Screening

Q: Is COVID-19 symptom screening required before agency employees, contractor employees, and visitors enter a Federal facility or before agency employees interact with members of the public as part of their official responsibilities?

A: If a Federal employee, contractor employee, or visitor has fever or chills, or if they have other new or unexplained symptoms consistent with COVID-19 such as new or unexplained onset of cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, new or unexplained loss of taste or smell, or new or unexplained muscle aches, they should not enter a Federal workplace. If an individual suspects that they have COVID-19, such as because they have new or unexplained COVID-19 symptoms, but they do not yet have test results, they should not enter a Federal workplace and should get tested if they have not already done so.

To be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies would need to require that all employees and contractor employees working onsite at an agency workplace and all visitors to Federal facilities complete symptom screening before entering a Federal facility. Agencies also would need to require that all employees complete symptom screening prior to interacting with members of the public in person as part of their official responsibilities. Symptom screening can be self-conducted and does not need to be verified by agency personnel. In developing these tools, agencies may adapt the screening tool developed by CDC.

To be consistent with Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, agencies would need to allow individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 and had symptoms to return to working onsite at an agency workplace or interacting with members of the public as part of their official responsibilities after 5 full days from the onset of symptoms (day 0 being the day of symptom onset, regardless of when the individual tested positive), once they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and their other symptoms are improving. Note that loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation. If at any point their COVID-19 symptoms recur or worsen, agencies must instruct the individual to again not enter a Federal facility or interact with members of the public as part of their official responsibilities, restarting at day 0, consistent with Executive Order 13991 and CDC recommendations on isolation and the protocols set forth by their agency.

Q: If a facility’s FSC votes to adopt symptom screening criteria and procedures at the entrances to a GSA-controlled facility, how are those services acquired, and who pays?

A: Once the FSC votes to adopt these “Enhanced Entry Screening Services” (EESS), the occupant agencies have provided the required funding, and an enforcement strategy is developed, the GSA project team will determine an appropriate acquisition strategy, in consultation with the FSC, using GSA's EESS procurement resources, and acquire the services. In leased facilities, these activities must also be coordinated with the lessor. Occupant agencies are required to provide funding for these services based on their pro rata share of the facility’s rentable square footage.

Q: Are GSA’s EESS procurement resources available for use in facilities managed by agencies other than GSA?

A: Yes, GSA’s EESS procurement resources are available for use by federal agencies managing a GSA-controlled facility under an operation and maintenance delegation issued by GSA and federal agencies managing facilities under their own independent landholding authority.