ANSI Member COVID-19 News: Questions to Consider for Return to Office for People with Disabilities, Emerging Tech from COVID-19, and More

The ANSI Federation and standardization community are stepping up with guidance, resources, and initiatives to support public health and safety and the nation's recovery. Suggestions for news items may be submitted to [email protected]. All submissions are published at ANSI's discretion.

NFPA Addresses Important Questions to Consider during Return to Office for People with Disabilities

As more employees return to the office, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has published a blog post highlighting “Return to Office Impacts for People with Disabilities,” citing top considerations for these workers—from building entry to accessible doors.

A post published by Kevin Carr, senior fire protection specialist, notes that people with disabilities are afforded specific legal protections, most notably via the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “As such, great care needs to be taken to ensure that any building changes, pandemic-related or otherwise, are in adherence with these protections, as well as adopted fire and life safety codes,” Carr emphasizes.

NFPA lists important questions to address when focusing on key work areas that may pose unique challenges:

• Are reception and security areas staffed? If not, how would a guest be able to gain assistance with entry?
• Are required outside doors arranged to accommodate people with disabilities?
• Are check-in processes (and technologies) able to assist everyone?
• Are fire doors properly latched and secured?
• Have elevator emergency phones been tested to ensure they are working properly?
• Has access to the exit been restricted in any way? This could be inside the building, or outside, as it leads away from the building.
• Have fire alarm systems been inspected and tested?

“Navigating these [steps] effectively will require several components, but perhaps none more important than creating a detailed plan and an effective communication strategy,” Carr explains. “Therefore, it is imperative that people with disabilities are included in these processes, as their knowledge, insight, and perspective will help to ensure that any plans developed are relevant, timely, and effective for all.”

Access the lists in entirety via NFPA’s blog post.

SAE to Host Webinar on PPE to Testing: Emerging Technologies from COVID-19

SAE International’s SAE Media Group is offering an on-demand 60-minute webinar titled “From PPE to Testing: Emerging Technologies from COVID-19,” available on its website until July 22, 2022.

As COVID-19 has ushered in a host of new technologies—many under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization—the webinar, from the editors of Medical Design Briefs, addresses emerging technologies and explores their role in the future of healthcare. It will also address key questions:

• Which of these technologies will replace or drastically change the medtech landscape?
• What will it take for these devices to make the transition to fully approved 510(k) devices?

An audience Q&A follows the technical presentation. Register for the free event via SAE Media Group.

NSF Shares Study that Identifies Top-Performing Point-of-Care COVID-19 Tests

To help communities and healthcare systems make more informed decisions when choosing rapid, point-of-care COVID-19 tests, researchers at NSF International and Novateur Ventures have identified five top-performing point-of-care diagnostic tests (POCTs) on the market. The research findings in a new study, COVID-19 Point-of-Care Diagnostics That Satisfy Global Target Product Profiles, identifies the top POCTs based on clinical sensitivity/specificity, the limit of detection, and time to results, which meet World Health Organization (WHO) target product profiles (TPP) “desirable” criteria for direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 (acute infection) or indirect diagnosis of past infection (host antibodies).

Currently, there is significant variability in performance and features of available POCTs, making selection and procurement of an appropriate test for specific use case difficult. Researchers evaluated more than 1,100 independently assessed, point-of-care COVID-19 tests, and from those, analyzed two types of COVID-19 point-of-care tests: direct (antigen/RNA) tests to detect acute infection and indirect (antibody) tests to detect past infection. WHO TPPs can be used to compare key features of COVID‐19 tests and select products that best respond to the public health needs of each region.

The findings were published by the Multidisciplinary Publishing Institute (MDPI), and highlighted in an NSF news article.

“As communities around the world consider expanding existing COVID-19 testing strategies to include large-scale, rapid point-of-care tests, it’s essential for them to understand which tests work best in different situations,” said study co-author Robyn Meurant, executive director of health sciences at NSF International.

See more ANSI member efforts in the ANSI COVID-19 Resource Webpage Highlighting Standardization Community Response.