“Don’t panic, but get prepared.” That’s the message I want to get over to everyone today.
Large business is taking all kinds of measures to minimize the risk to their business. As a business owner, you too, should be doing the same.
Step one is communicating clearly to your team.
Here is a template you can use to communicate to your team to safeguard everyone’s health and your business:
Dear Team,
Your health, the health of your family and everyone we interact with is paramount to us. We don’t want you to panic, but would like to keep you updated with Coronavirus.
What we are implementing:
We ask that if you feel any early symptoms of a cold or flu virus, please do not come into the office. Please visit your doctor and communicate to us via phone your situation.
If one of your immediate family (living in your home) is sick and requires care please phone us to update us of your situation.
We also ask that everyone coming through our doors wash their hands or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer on arrival, as well as before they leave.
We are continuing to maintain a clean office through vigilant cleaning of all surfaces at more frequent intervals, frequent hand washing practice, and screening those coming through our door that they are healthy in order to minimize your risk for exposure.
If you plan to leave the county for work or vacation, please check with your manager so we can evaluate any risk or future quarantine requirements.
Here are some recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) for minimizing risk for COVID-19 as well as other viruses:
Wash Hands Frequently -Use soap and water for visibly dirty hands or an alcohol-based hand rub frequently for non-visibly dirty hands. Wash hands for a minimus of 20 seconds
Avoid Touching Eyes, Nose & Mouth -Hands touch many surfaces which can be contaminated with the virus. If you touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your contaminated hands, you can transfer the virus from the surface to yourself. FYI - Surgical masks are only helpful for those currently sick, and help to prevent airborne particles from flying into the surrounding air. To date no organization backs the use of surgical masks for the general public.
Practice Respiratory Hygiene - When coughing and sneezing, cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – discard tissue immediately into a closed bin and clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
Seek Medical Care Early - If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early and tell your health care provider if you have traveled in an area in China where the virus has been reported, or if you have been in close contact with someone with who has traveled from China and has respiratory symptoms. If you have mild respiratory symptoms and no travel history to or within China, still seek medical care and be sure to carefully practice basic respiratory and hand hygiene and stay home until you are recovered.
If possible start thinking about family preparedness, and how to take care of a sick family while not getting infected
Background: COVID-19, originally known as 2019-nCoV, is a strain of a large family of coronaviruses which can be transmitted from animals to humans. It was first identified as the cause of a respiratory illness outbreak in Wuhan, China in late 2019.
Symptoms: COVID-19 symptoms are similar to the cold or flu, and may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to the virus. Severe cases may lead to pneumonia, kidney failure or death. Mild symptoms may include fever, headache, runny nose & sneezing, cough & sore throat, difficulty breathing, chills & fatigue, impaired liver & kidney function. Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 appears to occur mainly by respiratory transmission. How easily the virus is transmitted between persons is currently unclear. The CDC estimates that symptoms of COVID-19 occur within 2–14 days after exposure. Preliminary data suggest that older adults and persons with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems might be at greater risk for severe illness from this virus
If we all do our part together, we will help minimize the risk of spreading all current viruses circulating in our community, along with those possibly entering our community. At the very least, we feel this is a good reminder of exercising better public health to help everyone stay safe during the cold and flu season.
We recommend the following resources for more information regarding this virus:
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) - https://www.cdc.gov
World Health Organization (WHO) https://www.who.int
National Institutes of Health - https://www.nih.gov