HARRISBURG (KDKA) – Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine has signed an order that provides direction for cleaning buildings and businesses in order to maintain in-person operations.

The Building Safety Measures order reads: “Cleaning, disinfecting, and other maintenance and security services performed by building service employees are critical to protecting the public health by reducing COVID-19 infections in the commonwealth. Based upon the manner of COVID-19’s spread in the commonwealth and in the world, and its danger to Pennsylvanians, I have determined that the appropriate disease control measure is the direction of building safety measures as outlined in this order to prevent and control the spread of disease.”

The measure applies to buildings of at least 50,000 square feet being used for commercial, industrial or other enterprises. This includes warehouses, manufacturing facilities, office buildings, airports, grocery stores, universities, government buildings, hotels, and residential buildings with at least 50 units.

New protocol includes:

Cleaning and disinfecting high-touch areas that are accessible to customers, tenants, and other individuals

Ensuring the building has enough employees to perform cleaning duties effectively

Ensuring the building has sufficient security to control access, maintain order, and enforce social distancing guidelines

The order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m., Monday, April 6.

In Allegheny County, there are 605 confirmed cases and the total number of confirmed cases in Pennsylvania is up to 11,510.

More information on the Coronavirus pandemic: