In order to protect personnel and other people from spreading the COVID-19 the business related to different spheres preferred to temporarily shut down or significantly change the working manner. And in the case of IT companies and entities from the Silicone Valley it would be easy to manage the employees working remotely, the traditional companies may face certain operational difficulties.
Signature Water and Fire Restoration provides the services of disinfection and cleanup, including coronavirus cases, although we hope that using tips listed above you will be able to prevent exposure of viruses at your workplace.
What is COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
COVID-19 is a newly appeared type of infection, which is spread from person to person in a respiratory way. It was firstly found in China, Wuhan province. Although there is a high number of strains of coronavirus, which were previously known and could cause the flu or SARS & MERS, currently names Coronavirus and COVID-19 are meaning the same.
The main symptoms inherent to it are as follows:
- Fever and weakness in muscles (together or separately);
- Dry cough;
- Shortness in the breath;
- Pain in throat;
- Runny nose.
Ways to Protect the Business
The obvious things to be done is to be aware of sings inherent to the disease, its main traits, watching updates provided by WHO and local affairs, there’s still a list of actions which can be done for business protecting, which are as follows:
Check the Cleanliness of the Premises
There’re a lot of commonly spread pieces of advice given by healthcare officials from all over the world which are openly communicated for helping to keep in safe at the time of Coronavirus. However, there would not be considered as an extra measure to remind these tips to employees even if they mostly look like common-sense actions.
The best practice is to place little posters with simple tips at the places of common usage like sinks, kitchens, archives, where people used to use their hands. The majority of them come down to the following:
- Hands should be carefully washed during at least 20 seconds;
- Do not use reusable cleaning tools, it is better to apply disposable ones. Avoid using sponges, towels, brushes and other cleaning tools because they can save the virus active for a long period;
- The frequency of cleaning of premises and surfaces there should be increased, including cleaning and disinfecting tables, plates, doorknobs, other handles, and surfaces.
Check Whether Employees Are Aware of Existing Remote Work Policy’s Statements
If you decided to transfer personnel to the remote work send the respective mass email to each employee. Specify there the dates from which the remote work is provided and the end date, and attach the respective acting policy, which regulates the rules of work from the home schedule at your company. Similar actions have been already done by many companies including those ones from Silicone Valley. In such a way these companies avoid spreading the virus.
In case you have never been practiced the work from home option, it would be a good idea to try to implement it for your employees, or at least remind employees about their rights for paid sick leave and regular vacation. Please note, that the consequences from temporary shut down and productivity decrease can be eliminated much easier than the consequences from the COVID-19 exposure at the working place.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide the following recommendations:
- Communicate to employees the requirement to stay at home in case they feel sick;
- Implement temporary sick leave policies, which do not consider punishment for sick leaves without respective doctor’s note;
- Be ready for the situation when the majority of employees will stay at home (especially those, who have kids in case schools will be closed);
- Enforce to follow good hygiene principles, including coughing and sneezing to the sleeve, frequent hands washing, cleaning of tables and disinfecting them and other surfaces.
Ensure Business Traveling and Mass Events are Prohibited
Try to reduce all social engagements to the minimum, if possible. Transfer meetings to online format or calls, avoid conferences and business trips and reduce all contacts with people avoiding even simple hands shaking. Each mass event or meeting can be potentially dangerous for employees putting them at risk to be infected with COVID-19.
Check Resources
Nobody is interested to make local businesses bankrupt because of the shutting down due to pandemic. As a result, many local communities and affairs started to offer a different kind of financial support to the representative of a small business like giving cheap loans, reimbursements, and compensations.
In order to support the business and mitigate some losses caused by the current situation keep on track by local and state updates and announcements regarding funding opportunities or other types of aid.
Cleanup Procedures
In case you require the cleanup procedure regarding the COVID-19 problem you should ask for the services of professionals, who are properly trained, have enough experience, powerful equipment, and effective methodology. Don’t allow the risk for cases, when you can rely on a professional company that also specialized at biohazard disposals and comply with OSHA, CDC, and EPA requirements.
Signature Water and Fire Restoration have the team of technicians, who will effectively make cleanup of your premises from the COVID-19. Call us at 1-224-515-0100 for more details or additional consultations.