We are closely monitoring the situation regarding the COVID19 Coronavirus. The following document details the company’s response to the pandemic, in order to control the spread of the virus and its potential impact to business continuity.
General information relating to the Coronavirus
What is the coronavirus?
A coronavirus is a virus that can be transmitted from person to person. Typical symptoms include fever, a cough that may progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
Generally, a coronavirus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.
COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus, first identified in Wuhan city, China but has since spread worldwide. This is a rapidly changing situation which is being monitored carefully.
How is coronavirus spread?
Similar viruses are spread by droplets in coughs and sneezes.
How to avoid catching infections like coronavirus
You can reduce your risk of getting and spreading respiratory infections by:
- avoiding direct hand contact with your eyes, nose and mouth
- maintaining good hand hygiene – washing hands with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser:
- after coughing or sneezing
- after going to the toilet
- before eating and drinking
- avoiding direct contact with people that have a respiratory illness and avoiding using their personal items such as their mobile phone
- covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing with disposable tissues and disposing of them in the nearest waste bin after use
What will I need to do?
Publicise and share this with your teams, ensuring they are clear on this guidance. As this is an evolving situation, we recommend you use official sources for all the latest news and guidance.
Familiarise your business with the current government advice regarding management of COVID-19 (as summarised in this communication) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and- businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-covid-19
Guidance to Employees
All employees
Please be aware of the following procedures that should be followed by all employees:
- Undertake regular personal hygiene procedures, using hot water and soap to wash hands.
- Hand sanitiser readily available and should be used regularly.
- Use of personal hand sanitiser should NOT replace good personal hygiene and operatives should continue to wash their hands where possible.
- Employees should limit physical contact, including shaking of hands.
- Consumption of food and drink should only be undertaken in designated areas and once thorough hygiene measures have been undertaken.
- Operatives should ensure good personal hygiene after using toilet facilities.
- Regularly wipe down workstations, vehicles interiors and general surfaces using appropriate wipes.
Customer facing employees
Please be aware of the following procedures in place in place for customer facing employees:
- Undertake regular personal hygiene procedures, using hot water and soap to wash hands.
- Hand sanitiser readily available to customer facing employees and should be used regularly.
- If you are required to work in a customers house / office, you should take your issued hand sanitiser with you and use regularly.
- Undertake personal risk assessment of the surroundings and people you come into contact with. If any customers display symptoms or appear to have poor personal hygiene, operatives should cease work, and contact their line manager.
- Use of personal hand sanitiser should NOT replace good personal hygiene and operatives should continue to wash their hands where possible.
- Employees should limit physical contact with customers, including shaking of hands.
- Employees should not accept any food or drink from customers / tenants
- Consumption of food and drink should only be undertaken in designated areas and once thorough hygiene measures have been undertaken.
- Operatives should ensure good personal hygiene after using toilet facilities.
Meetings and Events
Please be aware of the following controls in place relating to meetings:
Non-essential travel restrictions
Inter-office travel ban to protect the spread between internal offices
Meetings can be held by Skype, Zoom, or by phone as relevant.
Cancellation of non-business critical large meetings, gatherings and events
Where attendance is required on site, all precautionary hygiene measures should be taken to control the spread of the virus.
Government advice to managing COVID-19 in the workplace
What to do if an employee becomes unwell and believe they have been exposed to COVID-19
- If someone becomes unwell in the workplace, the unwell person should be removed to an area which is at least 2 metres away from other people. If possible, find a room or area where they can be isolated behind a closed door, such as a staff office. If it is possible to open a window, do so for ventilation.
- The individual who is unwell should call NHS 111 from their mobile, or 999 if an emergency (if they are seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk) and outline their current symptoms.
- Whilst they wait for advice from NHS 111 or an ambulance to arrive, they should remain at least 2 metres from other people.
- They should avoid touching people, surfaces and objects and be advised to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when they cough or sneeze and put the tissue in a bag or pocket then throw the tissue in the bin. If they don’t have any tissues available, they should cough and sneeze into the crook of their elbow.
- If they need to go to the bathroom whilst waiting for medical assistance, they should use a separate bathroom if available.
- Update your employer on any guidance you have received.
What to do if a member of staff or the public with suspected COVID-19 has recently been in your workplace
For contacts of a suspected case in the workplace, no restrictions or special control measures are required while laboratory test results for COVID19 are awaited. In particular, there is no need to close the workplace or send other staff home. Most possible cases turn out to be negative. Therefore, until the outcome of test results is known there is no action that the workplace needs to take.
What to do if a member of staff or the public with confirmed COVID-19 has recently been in your workplace
- Closure of the workplace is not recommended.
- The management team of the workplace will be contacted by the PHE local Health Protection Team to discuss the case, identify people who have been in contact with them and advise on any actions or precautions that should be taken.
- A risk assessment of each setting will be undertaken by the Health Protection Team with the lead responsible person. Advice on the management of staff and members of the public will be based on this assessment.
- The Health Protection Team will also be in contact with the case directly to advise on isolation and identifying other contacts and will be in touch with any contacts of the case to provide them with appropriate advice.
- Advice on cleaning of communal areas such as offices or toilets will be given by the Health Protection Team.
When individuals in the workplace have had contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19
If a confirmed case is identified in your workplace, the local Health Protection Team will provide the relevant staff with advice. These staff include, any employee in close face-to-face or touching contact, talking with or being coughed on for any length of time while the employee was symptomatic anyone who has cleaned up any bodily fluids close friendship groups or workgroups any employee living in the same household as a confirmed case
Contacts are not considered cases and if they are well, they are very unlikely to have spread the infection to others.
Those who have had close contact with an infected party:
- will be asked to self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact with the confirmed case and follow the stay at home guidance available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
- they will be actively followed up by the Health Protection Team
- if they develop new symptoms or their existing symptoms worsen within their 14-day observation period they should call NHS 111 for reassessment
- if they become unwell with cough, fever or shortness of breath they will be tested for COVID-19
- if they are unwell at any time within their 14-day observation period and they test positive for COVID-19 they will become a confirmed case and will be treated for the infection
Staff who have not had close contact with the original confirmed case do not need to take any precautions and can continue to attend work.
General Advice Numbers
Coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline: If you do not have symptoms and are looking for general information, a free helpline has been set up on 0800 028 2816.
Please be aware that the advice and possible travel restrictions are being updated on a daily basis and our position may change in line with the official advice. Please see the link below which will lead you to the most recent updates:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public