By Sam | March 17, 2020

Pandemic Scenario: a staff member suspects they are infected

At the beginning of this pandemic, you most likely issued a memo to your employees. Your sample communication may have looked like the below. We have bolded the most important part regarding employees who fall ill.

SAMPLE COMMUNICATIONMEMO TO EMPLOYEES

Memo: Coronavirus and Flu Prevention

To: All Employees

From: Your Credit Union

The world health community is constantly monitoring the emergence and expansion of the “coronavirus disease 2019” (COVID-19). The severity of the outbreak is currently unknown. Proactive steps should be taken in order to address the ongoing business concerns, due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19, as well as the fact that the seasonal influenza (flu) is currently widespread. The main priority is to provide and maintain a safe workplace for all employees. This entails adopting and promoting certain safety practices that help protect the health of employees, customers, visitors or others. In the event of a pandemic, having plans in place for the continuity of business operations is critical. All employees are encouraged to take necessary steps to help reduce the transmission of communicable diseases in the workplace by following the recommendations below:

• Stay home if you are sick. If you have a fever, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone.
• Wash your hands prior to eating and when coming in contact with others. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid touching your face before washing your hands, especially your nose, eyes or mouth
• Use a bent elbow or a tissue when sneezing or coughing; dispose of the tissue immediately
• Keep a distance of six feet or more from others.
• Avoid close contact with individuals showing signs of fever or persistent cough
• Clean frequently touched surfaces. Make sure you use disinfectant or anti-microbial wipes when cleaning your electronics (keyboard, laptop, desktop, mobile phone, tablets, etc.)

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers will be made available throughout the workplace and in common areas. Disinfectant/Anti-microbial wipes will also be provided to clean frequently touched surfaces, such as telephones, laptops, and keyboards. Please do not remove these items as they are limited and for the use of all employees.

During this outbreak, employees are encouraged to use telephone and video conferencing instead of face-to-face meetings, as much as possible. Please contact your IT support services if you need assistance with this technology.

It is extremely important that any employee who is experiencing respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills or fatigue do not report to work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that employees stay home for at least 24 hours after they are free of fever. Many times, employees report to work even though they feel ill. Employees who report to work ill will be sent home in accordance with these health guidelines.

Please contact the HR department should you have any questions or concerns.

We recommend that you follow the guidelines bolded above in case an employee falls ill unless your policy states otherwise. If you think you or an employee has been exposed to COVID-19 and develops a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider for medical advice. See more information from the CDC here.

From a business continuity perspective, follow the below steps.

If you have any questions on how to handle this from a business continuity perspective, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our BCP team at info@ongoingoperations.com. We were founded as a BCP and Disaster Recovery CUSO, and we are here to help the credit union community during this challenging time.

Stay healthy!