Industries worldwide have faced continuous burdens since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while adjusting to rapidly changing rules and regulations. Industries need to be prepared to remain operational and productive in the face of current and emergent pathogens. While several businesses could remain functional through remote work, critical industries faced closings, worker shortages, and loss of productivity. Pharmaceutical industries were blessed with an increase in the stock market and creation of new jobs, but faced serious severe challenges due to shortage of medicines and drugs. Critical infrastructures such as healthcare, food and agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation, retail, waterworks, and waste management took a significant hit during the pandemic, and are still suffering from worker shortages to function optimally. Above all odds, companies were able to maintain the necessities by implementing strict safety protocols such as thorough and repeated cleaning, use of hand sanitizer/disinfectants, wearing face masks and personal protective equipment, and maintaining social distancing. This article addresses how COVID-19 disrupted normal operations on a large scale, and how essential businesses have learned to assess the impact, handle situations effectively, and become resilient for future crises. Best practices were tailored to each industry sector to prepare for and address the pandemic.

Domestic workers including housecleaners, nannies, and caregivers are facing a challenging time in the era of COVID-19 exposure. Many domestic workers have lost their jobs worldwide. As businesses and organizations have started to reopen in full capacity, domestic workers are unsure of their future and whether they will be rehired by their employers. They have less protections from labor laws unlike other occupations and usually their employers/agencies do not provide training on safe practices for working in a home setting. There are gaps in understanding safety and health issues associated with precarious work for domestic workers. This review article has searched the literature on safe strategies for domestic workers to eliminate exposure and provides helpful suggestions for domestic workers to safely return to work. Employers or house owners can have a proper reopening plan when considering hiring or rehiring domestic workers. Domestics working in a home environment should use best practices to protect themselves and others from infectious diseases. Having open communication between employers and their domestic workers can go a long way. Implementing and following an effective working plan for both employers and their domestic workers will provide a path towards minimization of hazard and control of infectious diseases like COVID-19.