COVID-19 Toolkit: CGA News & Resources

(Page last updated: December 30, 2020)

On this page of the online toolkit, we provide Compressed Gas Association news and resources to assist our members’ response to COVID-19. This content will be updated on a frequent basis, so be sure to refresh your web browser to see all the latest news and information.

CGA Resources – COVID-19 Table of Contents

CGA COVID-19 Resources

CGA Offers Free Medical Oxygen Supply Chain Posters

Updated December 30, 2020

Members of the Compressed Gas Association stand ready to meet the medical oxygen needs of healthcare providers in the U.S. and Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our member companies continue to produce and deliver essential products, particularly oxygen and other medical gases,  in response to demand related to COVID-19.

Throughout this crisis, medical oxygen suppliers need to closely communicate with healthcare facility customers in order to monitor the situation together and reallocate resources as necessary to respond to spikes in demand.

CGA has published two free posters, which medical oxygen suppliers can share with customers. These posters communicate three critical steps that healthcare providers can take to support the medical oxygen supply chain:

  1. Understand their medical gas supply system needs and capabilities
  2. Manage medical gas container inventory
  3. Clean their medical gas containers

The posters are designed so that suppliers can add contact information to each poster, before sharing them with healthcare customers. Healthcare professionals are also welcome to download these posters for free.

Each poster also includes a link to the safety publication, CGA P-83, Guidelines for Cleaning Externally Contaminated Medical Gas Containers.

Click the links below to download the two posters, each of which is available in either 8.5X11 inches or 11X17 inches.

Wall Connection Poster

CGA Medical Oxygen Wall Connection Poster 8.5×11 with QRCode to P-83

CGA Medical Oxygen Wall Connection Poster 11×17 with QRCode to P-83

Cylinder Poster

CGA Medical Oxygen Cylinder Poster 8.5×11 with QRCode to P-83

CGA Medical Oxygen Cylinder Poster 11×17 with QRCode to P-83

CGA Provides Materials to Help Determine Site Access For Critical Employees & Visitors

CGA has developed materials that member companies may consider if establishing procedures for determining the suitability of critical employees to work after potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued guidance for companies to use when dealing with critical infrastructure workers who may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus.

CDC’s “Essential Critical Workers Do’s and Dont’s” also contains good work practices for critical workers and for their employers.

CGA has developed a set of resources for our members to use as templates for your own internal protocols and assessments…

CGA Facilitates Supply of Cloth Face Masks for Member Employees

Posted: April 22, 2020
Updated: May 5, 2020

This survey is now closed. FEMA has advised that future requests for cloth face coverings must be submitted through individual state offices. At this time, details on each state’s ordering process are not available. We’ll provide any information when/if there is another opportunity.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has identified a manufacturer to mass produce and distribute cloth face masks to critical employers over the next several weeks. These masks are intended to satisfy CDC recommendations to wear cloth masks in places where social distancing is difficult to maintain and could also be used in response to local orders to wear cloth masks.

The Compressed Gas Association (CGA) is a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Sector Coordinating Council (CSCC)…

FEMA has identified the chemical sector as one of eight critical sectors (out of sixteen total) to receive priority access to the masks. By virtue of CGA’s membership in the CSCC, CGA member companies have access to these face masks…

CGA Provides Resources to Ease Movement of Employees and Materials

Updated May 4, 2020

CGA has developed a set of documents to help members maintain access to plants, customers, and suppliers during this time of sheltering in place. We have developed two sets of document templates for member companies to use – one set for use in the U.S., and one for use in Canada.

In each set, one document is a letter that member company employees can keep in their possession to show to state and local authorities when necessary.

For the U.S., the letter explains why the company is part of the critical infrastructure sector as defined by the CISA COVID-19 response memorandum on critical infrastructure.

For Canada, the letter explains why the company is part of the critical infrastructure sector as defined by Public Safety Canada’s Guidance on Essential Services and Functions in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The letter also explains that the member company employee is designated as an essential worker and lists the typical duties of an essential employee. Some employee duties listed in the letter include:

  1. Travel to and from their designated company work site
  2. Travel to and from customer sites to deliver critical products, such as medical gases, or to maintain critical customer equipment, such as medical gas storage systems
  3. Travel to and from suppliers for equipment and parts to maintain company and customer equipment
  4. Perform any other job duties in support of critical company operations

The second document in each set, one version for Canada and one version for the US, is a label pointing out that the materials in transit are supplies for the critical infrastructure sector. The label can be placed on packages or shipping containers, or the label can be added to paperwork for bulk gases delivery vehicles. Typical supplies, as listed on the label, include:

  1. Medical gases for customer use
  2. Medical equipment for customer use
  3. Industrial gases for customer use
  4. Parts for industrial and medical gas production
  5. Parts for industrial and medical gas supply systems and customer use

We provide the two documents in editable Microsoft Word format so that you can add your company’s name, logos, and other contact information in the areas highlighted in yellow to personalize the documents. In the case of contractors, you can put “Contractor name, contractor for company name” in the “Company name” field in the first section. For reference, the label document is based on an 8.5” x 5.5” label.

CGA member companies are not obligated to use either form, as you may already have similar forms. However, you are welcome to personalize and use either or both of the forms.

Downloadable U.S. Letter and Label (Word documents):

Essential worker letter-U.S.

Essential supplies label-U.S.

Downloadable Canada Letter and Label (Word documents):

Essential worker letter-Canada

Essential supplies label-Canada

CGA Standards for COVID-19 Response