By now you’ve probably heard of the Coronavirus – the flu like illness that has rapidly spread across the city of Wuhan, China and has recently made its way to Canada, and around the globe.
While health officials in Canada say there’s no reason to be too concerned yet, employers are beginning to wonder what they can do to prevent the virus from creeping into their workplace and spreading amongst their employees.
Here are some measures employers can take to help prevent the virus from entering the workplace:
- Suspend all non-essential business travel to and from mainland China for the time being.
- This shouldn’t include employees who are currently travelling within China – they should be allowed to return home
- Employees who have visited the Hubei province of China within the past two weeks should not come back into the workplace for a period of two weeks as it can take that long for the symptoms of the virus to appear
- Employers should provide the above employees with the option to work from home, if possible
- If working from home is not possible, any mandatory quarantine at home should be paid
It may also be a good idea to remind employees:
- Who to contact if they are feeling ill and/or call in procedures
- Symptoms to look out for, ie. fever, cough, and difficulty breathing
- To wash their hands frequently, clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- If feeling ill, or displaying the above-mentioned symptoms, to stay home
- Who to contact with any concerns
If you have any questions regarding this, or the proper procedures to take if you suspect an employee may be infected, please contact e2r® to speak with an Advisor.